


I Miss the Rainfall

by Peach_Medusa



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Angst, Bonding, Crying, Eddie Kaspbrak Loves Richie Tozier, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, M/M, Mentions of past abuse, Non-Graphic Violence, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, Superpowers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:13:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 23,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26256952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peach_Medusa/pseuds/Peach_Medusa
Summary: “Why did they treat us like that?” Bill’s speech began to grow frantic and he could feel warm tears make their way down his face.Richie's face was solemn, “Because they think we’re dangerous.”Bill paused for a moment his voice coming out barely above a whisper, “I don’t feel dangerous. I feel scared.”~A superpower au with the losers escaping a cruel facility and trying to survive together.
Relationships: Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Bill Denbrough/Mike Hanlon/Stanley Uris, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 20
Kudos: 64
Collections: Labor Day Book Quote Challenge (2020)





	I Miss the Rainfall

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of the Labor Day Book Quote Challenge. I am grateful to be a part in it as it was a ton of fun and I met a lot of lovely people. My quote was "Because they think we're dangerous" (Richie to Bill) and it was a bit of a challenge to come up with something but overall I think it worked out. Please check out everyone else's fics in this collection as well, there are a lot of talented writers! Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy it!

Richie could feel the grip on his forearms tighten as he was led further down the hallway. Sometimes on the long journey to the testing rooms Richie would imagine scenarios of escaping. Farfetched thoughts of clawing his way towards freedom, even the thought of being killed in the process brought him some small amount of joy. But those thoughts typically ended at the threshold of the testing room. Today it looked like the smaller steel-walled room was where Richie would be spending his evening.

“Hello Richard, are you ready to cooperate today?” The doctor smiled at Richie who was being strapped to the steel chair bolted in the center of the room.

“C’mon doc, after all we’ve been through you can at least call me Richie; not Rich though, I only let the ladies call me that,” Richie said with a wink. After years of pushing and pulling, he knew just how much he could say before he would inevitably be punished. It brought him a strange comfort; his words were the only thing he felt in control of in this hell hole of a building. 

The doctor sighed pulling the clipboard out from behind his back as he made a few notes. “Now Richard, we have been working with you for quite some time and have seen little to no progress. What we are asking for is simple; just fully transform and we can be done for the day.” This was Richie’s least favorite doctor, he was the hardest to get angry and he never bantered with Richie.

“Ok I’ll cooperate.” This seemed to shock the doctor as he raised his eyebrows slightly. Richie groaned and twisted in his chair. The guards backed up, waiting for the transformation to be over, but then Richie suddenly stopped his ministrations. He looked toward the doctor with a huge smile on his face, “There I fully transformed into someone who gives even less of a shit about what you want.”

Laughter rolled out of Richie in waves, he thought that one was pretty funny if he did say so himself. The doctor just stood there before nodding at one of the guards. An explosion of pain blossomed over Richie’s left temple as the guard smacked him with the butt of his baton.

“I’m not here to play Richard,” The doctor said calmly as a guard entered the room wheeling in a large contraption that Richie was all too familiar with.

“Don’t you have any new toys, Doc? This one is getting stale.” Despite his boisterous words Richie’s voice shook as he spoke, this was his least favorite of the machines.

The doctor walked towards the device and picked up a metal needle which he stuck into Richie’s left arm. Richie tried to brace himself as best he could but once the bolt of electricity shot through him he couldn’t help but scream.

~

Mike lay on his lumpy mattress, trying his best to rest as much as he could. He knew his time was coming up soon. It was always an hour or so after his neighbor was taken that he would follow suit. But his own anxiety would not let him rest for longer than 5 minutes at a time.

Suddenly his door was flung open and two guards rushed inside tossing him from the bed onto the cold concrete ground. A knee was placed on his back as he was handcuffed and then blindfolded.

“Watering time!” one of the guards announced, his voice oozing enthusiasm. “No fussing around this time boy, you are luckily we are so nice to go through all this hustle and bustle just to give you a daily dose of H2O.”

Mike couldn’t help but scoff, they had not given him any water for two days (probably still mad that Mike had laughed when one of the guards tripped and fell flat on his face). All of Mike’s meals were bone dry, no beverage given. He could hardly stand swallowing the scratchy food.

He was pulled up to his knees before a plastic cup was situated against his lips. Mike drank with fervor, not sure when his next drink would be. As he guzzled the cool liquid some slipped past his lips and drizzled down his chin landing on the ground.

The guard quickly pulled away the cup, smacking Mike across the cheek. “No spilling. We don’t need you using those freaky powers to escape from here.”

The cup was not given back even though Mike had not nearly had enough. Soon he heard the first guard leave and the remaining two untied Mike’s bindings before leaving him lying on the concrete ground. The cement felt cool against Mike’s cheek and as he closed his eyes he imagined lying on the cool wooden floors of his house with his dog beside him and his parents chatting in the kitchen. It was a happy thought and allowed Mike to rest for ten minutes before his back cried out in pain.

~

Stan stood in the middle of his room speaking softly to himself, “In five...four...three...two...” The door to his room opened. A guard came in to quickly cuff Stan’s hands behind his back before one of the higher ups walked in after him.

“Hello Stanley, always a pleasure to see you.” The man spoke, his fancy navy suit contrasting the dingy room.

“I very much doubt that but I also don’t care. Tell me what you want so I can give you an answer and you can leave.” Stan watched as the man pulled two folders out of his briefcase.

He opened one of them presenting it to Stan who quickly read it over. He nodded and was shown the second folder as well. “Our parent company is in the midst of a major deal and we need to know which contract will benefit us in the long run.”

Stan read over the second folder once more before closing his eyes. “Go with the second one, it might seem counterproductive now but in two years it will gain you more profit than the first contract.” Stan opened his eyes and smiled at the man, “Just watch out with your gambling addiction, blackjack can be one hell of a game.”

The man flinched, quickly shoving the folders back into his briefcase and scurrying out of the room. Stan chuckled; what kind of shitty business man needed help from someone like him? But he also really didn’t care, if he helped them it often meant less time in the testing rooms which Stan could not pass up.

As the guard went to unlock the cuffs Stan saw a small flash of a new path opening up. It hit him in waves, one new possibility after another. When the guard finally unlocked the cuffs Stan collapsed onto the ground, dizzy from all the new information.

“Freak,” the guard muttered as he closed the door behind him. But Stan was smiling, after the dizziness died down he gingerly picked himself up off the ground and sat on his bed, waiting.

~

Ben looked down at the bandage on his arm. He knew there had to be a bruise or two on his face that matched the ones on his arms and legs. The experiment today had all been about reaction time and it seemed that Ben’s was poor. The doctor overlooking his test just kept throwing things at Ben, only when he got the large cut on his arm did the doctor decide to relent.

Ben leaned against the wall, it didn’t seem long ago that he was biking to the convenience store to grab the latest edition of “World Architecture” magazine. If he closed his eyes and thought really hard he could still feel the wind against his hair. Ben missed a lot of things that he used to do, even the simple task of showering was now dictated by outside forces. He missed his mother, and the librarian that would chat with him, even his lonely school life.

The cut on his arm ached. The nurse had disinfected the wound and wrapped it up enough to ensure no infection would take place but there was little consideration for any pain he might be feeling. Ben could feel tears prickle at the corner of his eyes and he felt pathetic. He was always too sensitive, too much of a cry baby. Ben wanted to be strong, to be able to protect the people he loved. But as the tears continued to roll down his round cheeks he doubted that he could even protect himself.

~

Bill stared at the ceiling above him, a dark sky filled with countless stars, he watched in amusement as a shooting star passed by. He was in a better mood than usual since today consisted of a basic doctor’s appointment and a blood withdrawal. He didn’t want to know what they were planning on doing with his blood, as long as it meant no testing for the day he was fine with it. Bill absentmindedly thought about Georgie, if his parents were even taking care of him properly. A dark thought wormed its way into his stream of consciousness:perhaps Georgie had completely forgotten about Bill,. He was young when Bill had left. The thought caused a lump to form in Bill’s throat and he tried to distract himself. A rocket ship quickly made its way across the starry sky, doing an artful loop before heading off into the distance.

Bill was startled suddenly when he heard the voices of two guards round the corner. The sky above him quickly disappeared replaced by the aging concrete ceiling. Bill held his breath as the voices passed by his door. 

He hated this; the constant fear of what would happen next drove him insane. If Bill ever got the chance to leave this place he would go as far as he could and never look back but really that was only a pipe dream. 

~

Eddie was curled into a ball on his bed. He clutched his hair as his head felt like it was caught in a tight vise. Eddie’s whole body ached to the point where he could hardly move. A pulsing pain traveled throughout him from the top of his skull to the soles of his feet. He had not moved since he was tossed unceremoniously onto his bed earlier in the day.

The testing this morning had been excruciating, possibly because Eddie had shown good results the other day and they wanted to push him in hopes of seeing more. Eddie was always told the same thing, that he was weak, pathetic. The doctors all lamented the fact that Eddie could barely do anything with his miniscule powers. Everyday Eddie would try his best to please the doctors, wanting them to see him as worthy of their time but he himself had to admit that he was useless.

Eddie was plagued with constant sporadic headaches that often immobilized him. Some days Eddie would be unable to move without collapsing onto the floor, other days he would feel nothing at all. It seemed today was the former, although that did not matter to any of the doctors. They had propped Eddie up in a chair and told him to move the small wooden table in front of him. It hurt to even think let alone raise his hand, but Eddie tried because he wanted to prove he wasn’t so weak.

The table did not move. Eddie was reprimanded both with harsh words and even harsher beatings This continued on for some time before the doctor gave up with sigh and disapproving glare. Eddie was so frustrated with himself, it was his fault that he was like this, the doctors had done so many tests and experiments to try and help Eddie but none seemed to work. Why was he able to hold a can in the air for 15 minutes the other day but not be able to move a table if only slightly?

Eddie knew he was pathetic and that he would be trapped here forever. A dark part inside of him said that’s what he deserved but he still longed to leave this place. He wanted to discover what was beyond this concrete prison. His dream was to feel the grass underneath his feet and run until his lungs gave out. What a wonderful dream he thought to himself as his head continued to pound.

~

Beverly was yanked from the chair she was previously attached to. Her legs were weak beneath her and she could hardly stand but she took great joy in the way the guard flinched when she snapped her head at him. She laughed under her mouth restraint, If she did not take joy in the little things then what else did she have.

“Beverly, do you want a repeat of last week? Behave.” Beverly rolled her eyes at the doctor, he was her least favorite, always so quick to anger and would never shut up. But she was too tired to be annoyed, the experiment this round had drained her. The doctor took a few more notes before nodding at the guard holding Beverly and she was ushered out of the room and down the hall.

Beverly had always considered herself tough, or at least able to take everything that was thrown at her and then some. However this building with all its doctors and guards was testing all her strength. She would often go days without food since the guards found it too troublesome to go through the process of removing her muzzle. On those weeks the metal wrapped around her mouth would rub against her skin so harshly it would begin to chaff. This week she was lucky to have been fed pretty consistently.

Looking at the guard next to her Beverly recognized him as the one that had hit her particularly hard across the stomach the day before. While it was typical to have two guards around her during transportation often on the way back she was so tired and weak that one guard was enough. Beverly felt her body gain back the smallest amount of strength and she tried to walk more on her feet rather than be dragged unceremoniously across the floor by the guard’s rough hands. What Beverly would give to feel herself be free once again, from everything and everyone.

As Beverly absentmindedly began to wonder about her fate the lights went out. 

~

Richie was panting against the metal chair, his head hung low and limp. He didn’t dare glance at his left arm; he already knew what its inhumane form looked like.

“Un-strap his right arm, I want to rearrange its position before we try again.” The doctor called the two guards. The metal needle was yanked out of Richie’s left arm, he hissed at the rough movement. 

While one of the guards carefully un-did the straps bound around his wrist and upper arm the second guard held Richie down. “Don’t try any shit you monster.” He whispered into Richie’s ear.

Not like Richie had a choice anyway, he was restrained, surrounded by two guards, and already feeling himself go weak. Just as Richie was about to close his eyes so he wouldn’t have to witness what they were doing to his arm the room was plunged into darkness.

In the first half second of the lights going out Richie thought it was all part of the experiment but then he saw the doctor's face just barely illuminated by the lights of the still functioning machine, and he looked afraid. So Richie sprung into action. He knew even if not transformed he was still stronger than the guards so he swung his unrestrained arm up with as much force possible, knocking down the two guards behind him. He tugged his left arm against the leather bands still holding him down. They groaned under the force and just as the guards began to collect themselves the leather snapped in half.

Wasting no time Richie quickly un-did the other restraints holding down his legs, springing from the chair with enough force to leave his vision blackening around the edges. The guards were still trying to stand when Richie approached them. It was hard to see with no lights nor any windows but Richie could just barely make out the outline of their figures. He took the machine that he had previously been hooked up to and pushed it onto the guards, knowing the weight would pin them to the floor. At this the doctor made a yelp which Richie couldn’t help but laugh at, what a pathetic man.

The doctor shrank into the corner as Richie stalked his way over. He was much taller than the cowering man, he leaned down smiling as wide as he could and plucked the key card from the doctor's clip.

“Thanks doc, I think we’re done here for today.” Richie then grabbed the doctors head and smashed it against the wall, making sure to mind his strength. He wanted to knock the doctor out not kill him, even with all the pain he put Richie through.

Richie sprinted out the door swiping the key card against its metal handle. He was thankful that the lights seemed to be the only thing that was not working. He needed to get Spaghetti and get the fuck out of here before anyone caught on to his little daring escape. The problem was that Richie had no idea where he was going at the moment.

He could hardly navigate the area during the day but now with the lights out everything was pitch black. Richie ran into a wall cursing briefly before turning the corner and starting his sprint all over again. But as soon as his feet hit the floor he heard the thump of machinery and suddenly the hallway was bathed in a dim red light. The emergency lights, Richie thought to himself. More importantly though when Richie stared down the hallway he was met with the sight of a girl in the same uniform as him, with a metal muzzle clamped over her mouth and a guards baton in her hand.

She paused for a moment before making a sprint towards Richie who was frozen where he stood. He began to back up but she was already too close and grabbed his shirt collar yanking him towards another hallway he had not seen. Richie decided his best bet was to follow this crazy girl and hope this wasn’t some sort of trap.

As they turned yet another corner down a different corridor Richie shouted ahead at the girl, “Hey I don’t know what your plan is lady but I’m not leaving here without Spaghetti.”

The girl turned towards him slightly, still not breaking her stride, she looked confused but nodded nonetheless and pointed down the hall just as a collection of doors appeared. They looked identical to his room’s door and he seemed to fully get the picture when the girl banged on one of the doors and then tried to pry it open.

“Here this might help,” Richie said as he held out his key card and waved it in front of the small electronic pad situated on the wall. It slid open with a loud thud revealing a stocky boy curled up in the corner. He raised his head and Richie saw a bandage covering his arm as well as several bruises littering his body. Just like them this boy was wearing the same uniform, a tan t-shirt and pants with no socks or shoes.

He looked utterly confused as he began to stand, “Who are you people?”

“Your knights in shining armor, now let’s hurry up before the big bad dragon finds us.” Richie motions for him to follow as he backs out of the room and approaches the adjacent door. He swipes the key card once more and is this time greeted by a very different sight. A lanky boy with curls standing directly in front of the door.

“What took you so long?” He says pushing past Richie who looks utterly confused but decides not to question it.

Richie looks behind him to see the girl and bruised boy had caught up and were nodding on to continue. All four of them start their run down the hall before coming at a fork.

“Come on this way” the curly haired boy says before heading down the right hallway. Richie wasn’t all too sure where they were going but he was hoping that it would lead them to his room or more importantly the room right across from it. Just as he was about to voice his concerns the group came across two more similar doors.

Richie went to use the key card on one but the girl pulled his arm back before pointing to herself and then the door. “This your room Metal Mouth?” Richie asked which the girl nodded in response. So he moved onto the next door opening it and finding a dark skinned boy laying on his bed.

Just like the bruised boy before this guy looked confused but reacted much faster hopping onto his feet and making his way to the doors threshold. “This an escape mission of some sort?” On second glance Richie could see that this particular prisoner’s shirt had no sleeves.

Richie looked back at the others and then at the boy who was just an inch or two taller than him, “I guess so.”

“Hell yeah” the new addition to the team smiled and Richie couldn’t help but join him.

They stood there for a moment before voices were heard around the corner. Everyone sprung into action immediately sprinting down the corridor just as a guard caught sight of them.

“Hey! What are you all doing out of your rooms?!” He shouted but they were out of sight in an instant ducking past a corner. They kept sprinting the fear of being caught fueling their speed.

“Where are we going?” the dark skinned boy yelled as they continued to run.

“Here follow me.” The boy with curls shouted before moving to the front of the group. After a short while he took a path down a connecting hallway that led them to three identical doors.

Richie went to open the first door before being stopped once again. “Those first two doors are empty.”

“Are you sure?” Richie couldn’t help but ask.

The curly haired boy smirked slightly before answering, “100 percent.”

Richie went to the last door opening it like all the ones before, this time finding a shorter brunette boy sitting up in his bed staring at the group.

“Uh…hi?” the boy spoke, waving slightly at the hoard of strangers gathered at his door.

“C’mon we have to be quick.” The curly haired boy said and just as the brunette hopped off his bed and headed towards the others a shout could be heard from down the hallway.

“Get back to your assigned rooms now!” all six of them turned to see three guards approaching them, tranquilizer guns pointed and ready.

“Get behind me!” The stocky boy shouted. The others complied, filling behind him as he raised his hands. A blue tinted screen sprung in front of them just as the guards fired. Each shot bounced off the barrier and Richie felt himself smile a bit, this boy could produce force fields. “Start running, I don’t know how long I can keep this up.”

The group began their sprint down the hall once again. The girl made sure to hang back with the force field boy to ensure he was keeping up with the rest of them as he held one hand behind himself to keep up their only protection. The guards looked shocked when their tranquilizer darts first bounced off the shield but soon after Richie could see one of the guards speaking into his walking talking, probably asking for back-up.

It was another minute or so of running before Richie began to recognize his surroundings. Once he saw his door he sprinted to the front of the group. Ignoring the shout of ‘hey’ from the curly haired boy Richie ran to the door across from his. He swiped the card key, almost dropping it in his haste. It opened and Richie felt a sigh of relief escape him.

Curled up in a ball on the lumpy mattress was a short brunette. “Hey Spaghetti, time to go buddy” Richie approached the boy who was clutching his head.

He touched the boy's shoulder who snapped his eyes open looking up into Richie’s own. “Trashmouth?”

Richie couldn’t help his smile, “Yeah bud c’mon we don’t have much time we have to go.”

“Go? I can’t walk. It hurts too much. I’ll only slow you down, just leave me behind.” Richie’s smile faltered but he was determined. So as soon as the boy went to turn back onto his side Richie picked him up in a bridal carry.

“No way I can leave my Spaghetti behind, now let’s go.” Richie clutched the boy close to his chest and ran out the room just in time to see the last of the group approach the door.

“That’s everyone now let’s get out of here and quickly.” The curly haired boy said before taking off down the hallway everyone close behind.

They ran again, Richie could hear the boy in his arms whimper and hoped that this curly haired guy would lead them to freedom. The group was beginning to lose some of their initial adrenaline and Richie could see the stocky boy begin to wheeze beside him. But in the distance Richie could see a sign hung up in the middle of the hallway with a glowing “Exit” written across it. He heard someone yell out a cheer but just as it was getting closer the stocky boy fell to the ground. He was on his knees huffing out breaths of air and clutching his head but more importantly the protective shield around them was gone.

“Quickly help him up.” The brunette boy shouted. Both him and the no-sleeves boy went to either of his sides and slung his arms around their shoulders, propping him up onto his feet. Just as they were about to take their first steps a thunderous sound of feet boomed down the hallway.

Around 20 guards were lining the hallway each with a tranquilizer gun pointed at the group of teens. Some were kneeling on the ground while others stood behind them, malice in their eyes. One of the guards stepped in front of the others, “We don’t want to hurt you. If you surrender yourselves and walk back to your rooms all will be forgiven. I promise no punishment will come to you.”

Richie saw the curly haired boy grip onto the arm of the dark skinned boy and whisper softly, “they’re lying”

The stocky boy tried to raise his hand and produce another force field but nothing happened and he sunk his head low. Richie saw this and tilted his head back to the others whispering, “Let’s make a break for it. Not all of us will make it but maybe a few can slip by.” The others nodded slightly. Richie looked down at the boy in his arms, his large doe eyes stared back as his hand gripped Richie’s shirt. “Hey Spaghetti I’m going to run as fast as I can but when they start shooting I’ll be toast so you have to run by yourself ok?” The short boy shook his head as his grip on Richie tightened.

“We’ve waited long enough if you don’t surrender by the count of five we will be forced to shoot.” The lead guard looked towards his men and then the group of seven. He began his countdown, “Five…four…three…two…”

On the count of two Richie moved so his back was facing the guards and his bodying was shielding the boy in his arms. He was about to start sprinting when he felt the boy move.

The small boy flung his arm out towards the guards just as they reached the count of one and he screeched out a loud, “No!” In an instant the guards were flung backwards. Like a wave their bodies hit the ground one after the other. Their forms lied in a pile unconscious but still alive. Richie could just barely see their chests rise and fall. The boy in his arms only had a second to marvel at what he had done before passing out, his limbs going limp in Richie’s hold.

The group of seven looked shocked. Richie stared with concern at the boy in his arms, holding the side of his neck to check for a pulse. Once he felt the delicate beat against his fingers he looked towards the others. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.” 

They made their way to the exit sign and finally saw the door that would lead to their freedom. The door was pushed open. Once they were outside no one could contain the pure joy on their faces. It was short lived however when they were reminded of their situation. Yes they were outside but it was dark and more importantly they had no real plan.

“Look!” the brunette boy pointed off in the distance where a truck was parked. It was still running as the driver stood outside arguing with a guard. “Does anyone know how to drive?”

“I do,” the no-sleeve boy said, “here take him” He passed off the still exhausted stocky boy to the girl.

“Wait I think I can get them away from the truck” The brunette spoke up again before holding his hands out towards the men. Suddenly a bear appeared. It was huge with brown fur, giant claws, and sharp teeth. It approached the men and stood up tall before letting out a roar. Richie watched in awe as the brunette continued to hold his hands out and smirk. The men screamed at the sight of it and had no choice but to run in the opposite direction leaving the truck open for the taking. As soon as the men were out of sight the boy lowered his hands and the bear faded away.

There was no time to celebrate though, as there was no knowing how long the guards in the hallway would be knocked out for or when the driver would return. So they all made their way towards the truck, the dark skinned boy getting into the driver’s side while the curly haired boy took the passengers and everyone else spilled into the back.

It was tense as they shifted into drive and made their way around the building towards the exit. No one dared to speak even as they crossed the gate, only when the building was a dot in the rearview mirror did everyone let out a sigh of relief. The car went from silence to roaring cheers. Richie let out a few hollers of joy feeling his body overflow with happiness. He looked down at the boy whose head lay in his lap, still unconscious from before. Worry replaced Richie’s happiness as he thought about what would happen next.

Richie glanced around at the others in the truck, until a few minutes ago he had thought that him and Spaghetti were the only ones in that facility. Now he had six other people who were prisoners just like him and they had all escaped. Richie began to absentmindedly run his fingers through the hair of the boy in his lap. He was thankful that during the escape his arm went back to its normal human form. The car had died back down to an awkward silence as everyone stared out the windows amazed to be away from the hell that was that building.

“Well that was quite the daring escape” Richie couldn’t help but to fill up the silence “Thanks for the shield haystack that helped a bunch.”

The stocky boy looked over at Richie, he had gotten back his lost strength and was sitting upright between the brunette boy and the girl. “Oh uh thanks it was no trouble. Um by the way my name is Ben.” He looked shy as he tugged the hem of his shirt.

“Nice ta meet ya Ben.” Richie took his hand out of Spaghetti’s hair and reached it out to Ben who hesitated before shaking it. “I’m Richie by the way in case anyone was wondering.”

“Oh are we doing introductions?” The dark skinned boy called out from the driver’s seat, quickly glancing in the rear view mirror before turning his eyes back to the road. “I’m Mike, and it’s wonderful to meet all of you.”

The curly haired boy spoke next, “I’m Stanley but please just call me Stan. Thank you all for the help back there.”

“Everyone was awesome. I didn’t even know I could run for that long.” The brunette said, a smile on his face. “Oh I’m Bill by the way.”

“Alright so we got Benny boy, Mikey, Stan the man, Big Bill and…” Richie pointed to the girl. He wasn’t sure under the emergency lights but in the faded darkness of the car he could see the bright red mop of hair on her head.

She tried to speak but her metal muzzle muffled any words. Her knuckles turned white as she tugged on it but it didn’t budge.

“Anyone got a pencil and paper here for metal-mouth?” Richie joked looking towards the other passengers.

The girl let out a huff before grabbing Ben’s hand. She forced it open so the palm was facing the ceiling and then began to drag her finger along it. Ben looked confused before piecing together what she was attempting to do.

“Oh! Was that a ‘B’?” Ben asked. The girl nodded her head enthusiastically and began to write on Ben’s palm again. “’E’….’V’?” The girl nodded again, slapping Ben’s arm lightly in her joy. “Bev?” another nod of the head and two excited thumbs up was her response. Everyone smiled and let out a chorus of “hi Bev”.

Richie saw Bill make the briefest glance at Spaghetti before speaking, “Is he alright?” Bill pointed to the unconscious boy in Richie’s lap.

“I think so. I checked his pulse so he’s definitely alive, he’s probably just passed out.” Richie looked back down at the boy in his lap and once again started to card his fingers through his hair. It was dark inside the truck, for the briefest of moments a rare street lamp would illuminate the interior. But Richie could still see the freckles lining the boy's cheeks and dancing across the bridge of his nose. His long eyelashes fanned across his face and his hair curled slightly around the ends. Richie smiled to himself softly. 

“Soooo” Mike said, “What are we going to do now?”

Richie stopped examining the boy's face and looked at the other five people in the van. No one seemed to have an answer so of course Richie filled the silence, “No fucking idea.”

~

Eddie could hear the sound of voices, not unusual for most mornings as he suspected that he was the first one woken up for tests. He would not have questioned where he was if not for the feeling of sunlight on his cheek. Then he realized he was laying on something soft, or at least softer than his usual mattress.

As Eddie continued to wake up he pieced together what the voices were saying, “So how long are we going to let Red stay in that metal mouthpiece?”

“Do you not have the ability to call people by their names?”

“You’re just jealous that you’re not creative enough to think of anything Stanuel.”

Eddie heard a groan from farther away and then more chatter. He blinked a few times before seeing the back of a car seat in front of him. Eddie instantly sprung up, almost hitting the person’s whose lap he must have been resting in. The talking immediately stopped as everyone stared at him.

Eddie froze feeling confused and more than a little overwhelmed. “Whoa whoa calm down Spaghetti.”

He turned to see that it was Trashmouth whose lap he was just in. Eddie blushed a little at the thought. He looked at the others and began to recognize them as the people he saw during the escape. “Wha-what happened?” Eddie’s mouth felt dry as he spoke. He turned to face the boy in the glasses.

“Well after you passed out we left the building, stole a car, and have been driving since. The sun just began to rise about an hour or two ago.” The boy in glasses said giving Eddie a big smile, crooked teeth and all.

Eddie still looked a bit confused but nodded nonetheless. The boy next to him seemed to take notice of his confusion and began to explain a little further. “I guess introductions are in order, I’m Bill,” Bill motioned to the stocky boy next to him and then the girl next to that boy “this is Ben and Bev, driving right now is Mike and in the passenger seat is Stan.” As they were introduced each person waved and shot a smile at Eddie who waved back. “And I think you already know Richie right?”

Eddie looked over at the boy in glasses, “Richie?”

“That’s my name, don’t wear it out!”

There was an awkward pause as everyone looked over at Eddie expectantly. “Oh sorry, um my name is Eddie.”

“Eddie Spaghetti! That is too perfect” Richie laughed as he clasped his hand over Eddie’s shoulder.

“Don’t call me that” Eddie huffed, he felt the heat radiating from Richie’s hand and was reminded how he had been sleeping in his lap for the past few hours. He would never admit how comfortable he felt laying his head in Richie’s lap. 

“Nice to meet you Eddie” Mike said from behind the steering wheel. “Now that you’re awake I think it’s time that we finally talk about what to do next.”

“Well can’t we just keep driving until we find a town?” Richie asked.

“I don’t think that’s a great idea, the truck driver most likely reported this car as stolen so the cops would be looking for it.” Bill said.

“Wouldn’t it be best to go to the cops anyway?” Ben asked “They’ll help us right?”

“I wouldn’t trust anyone” Mike said “We don’t know who is working for that place. They might just cart us right back.” The rest of the group seemed to agree as they nodded their head to Mike’s statement.

Eddie was confused, he looked towards Richie who looked pensive before catching Eddie staring at him and flashing him a quick reassuring smile.

“So what do we do then?” Ben looked towards Bill and then Mike.

“I think it would be best to find a town, or at least a place to change clothes. We all look like we just escaped an insane asylum.” Stan spoke from the passenger’s seat, contorting his body to face the others in the back. “Also we should find a way to get that thing off of Bev’s mouth. It can’t be comfortable.”

Bev nodded her head pointing to the object clamped around her mouth.

“I think we should ditch the truck and start walking on foot.” Bill said.

“On foot? Is that a good idea? The truck would get us around faster.” Richie leaned forward to stare more properly at Bill.

“I think Bill is right, they definitely know what truck we took and are looking for it. If we make it look like we went another way that might help throw them off our trail.” Stan said.

Richie shrugged his shoulders “Whatever you guys think is best.” He looked towards Eddie “Do you think you can walk Eds? If not I can carry you again.”

Eddie could feel his cheeks heat up for the second time, he had already relied on Richie so much he felt a bit guilty. “I’ll be fine. Thank you Richie.” He tried his best to smile “Also don’t call me Eds, it’s Eddie remember?”

“Gosh what is up with no one wanting me to have fun in this group?” Richie complained but still smiled and that calmed Eddie down considerably.

The car fell back into a quiet chatter between everyone and Eddie felt himself laying back in his seat and almost falling asleep again. He glanced towards the window and was in awe at the sight of all the trees lining the sides of the road. Everything looked much more vibrant in person. He was excited to finally leave this car and be able to feel the grass beneath his feet.

After another hour or so of driving Mike shouted an “Aha!” looking out the window with a smile gracing his face. “I think I have a way to ditch the car without tipping off which direction we’re heading.”

Mike slowed the car down to a stop as everyone scrambled to look out the window. They had stopped right in front of a fork in the road, the left side leading up a hill while the right side continued straight. At the top of the hill sat a forest while the road heading straight was encompassed on both sides with overgrown trees and a small river. A sign could be seen right along where they had stopped indicating the name of both roads. Eddie looked out the window with curiosity, this was all so new to him. A storm of nervousness and excitement lay at the bottom of his stomach.

Everyone looked confused as Mike put the car into park and started to shuffle around obviously searching for something. He seemed to find what he was looking for when he spotted a half empty water bottle laying beside Richie’s feet.

“Richie could you hand me that water bottle please?” Mike asked with his hand outstretched.

“Uh sure buddy but I don’t think you want to drink from that.” Richie handed Mike the water bottle.

“Thank you” Mike adjusted himself back into the driver’s seat, buckling his seat belt again before putting the car back into drive, “Ok here’s the plan, I’m going to Drive up the hill and park the car in the forest there, make it look like we headed that way and attempted to hide the car and then I’ll head back down here and we can walk on foot to the nearest town.”

“That’s not a bad plan” Stan said from his seat beside Mike, “But we’ll lose time waiting for you to drive all the way up there and then having to walk all the way back.”

“Don’t worry I’ll be back in no time.” Mike looked towards Stan and then the others “Unless anyone has any better ideas.”

They all looked towards one another before Bill spoke up, “I think we should go with Mike’s plan, it's the best we got.”

Eddie noticed a few apprehensive looks, especially from Beverly who looked bitterly out the window. But Eddie was dealing with his own crisis as the others started to open the car doors and shuffle outside. He was about to be outside, with the grass beneath his feet and sky above him. A bolt of panic shot down his spine and his first thought was that he wanted to be back in his concrete room in his bed where he didn’t have to worry about the dangers of outside.

“Hey Eds you coming?” Richie was standing outside the car door, his brow furrowed.

Eddie couldn’t help but feel pathetic; everyone else was already outside the car sans Mike. They were stretching their legs and chit chatting while Eddie was struggling with getting out of the vehicle. He felt his blunt fingernails dig into his palm as he contemplated what to do before he saw a hand reach out for him.

Richie was still holding the door open for Eddie, his hand now outstretched and a gentle smile on his face, “Hey don’t worry I got you.” Eddie mustered up all the courage he had to smile back and take Richie’s hand. 

As Eddie stepped out of the car he was shocked by how differently the roads pavement felt to the concrete and steel he was used to. After being led behind the truck Eddie took his first steps into the dewy grass and couldn’t help but giggle at the feeling, it was soft but still just barely prickly. Eddie didn’t notice the curious stares as he continued to take careful steps in the grass, grateful for once that the facility didn’t provide him with shoes. Then Eddie noticed the trees just a few feet away and he instantly ran up to one. The bark scraped against the soft pads of his fingers and made his eyes widen with delight. Eddie turned to the others a wide smile on his face expecting to see them just as excited only to be met with confused faces.

Before Eddie could question them Mike shouted out the car window, “Ok I’ll be back in no time, just wait here.” And then he made his way up the hill and into the forest.

The group sat on the edge of the forest in silence. Just out of sight in case a random car drove by but close enough to still see the hill that Mike disappeared up. Ben and Bev sat across from one another picking lazily at the grass while Bill and Richie were leaned up against the base of a tree, Stan stood not too far off, keeping an eye on the Hill. Eddie was too preoccupied staring at everything around him in silent awe to notice the others.

He could see Stan whisper something to Richie in his peripherals but was too far away to hear and too busy focusing intensely on a fluffy cloud that was floating by. Time seemed to pass on slowly and Eddie could tell a few people in the group were getting fidgety. Bev had stopped twisting a piece of grass between her fingers to write in the dirt.

Ben watched as she wrote, frowning when she was finally done. “Left us” Ben read aloud “I don’t think Mike would just leave us.”

Bev shrugged her shoulders fixing her gaze deep into the forest.

“There is a possibility that Mike took the truck and just kept driving. It would be easier to lay low when there is only one of you.” Stan said not once taking his eyes off the hill in the distance.

Eddie felt his stomach drop at the thought, a new look of panic crossing his face. Richie locked eyes with him trying once again to give him a reassuring smile.

“Guys he hasn’t even been gone that long. He will be back, we just have to keep waiting.” Bill said.

Beverly then rose from her spot on the ground and pointed into the woods. Eddie was confused but understood what she meant when she began to walk further into the trees.

“Wait a minute I think it’s best if we all stick together.” Bill said as he stood up.

“I agree with Big Bill over here, we have a better chance of surviving if we are together.” Richie said.

Beverly started to make gestures with her hands. But Eddie wasn’t sure what they meant, just as Bill was about to speak Stan shouted over the commotion. “Hey!” everyone turned to look at him, “Mike’s back.”

The group ran towards the edge of the forest to see none other than Mike standing on top of the hill, Eddie couldn’t help but smile. Once Mike caught sight of everyone he waved, a grin plastered across his face and the half empty water bottle still in his hand.

“Damn it’s going to take him forever to walk all the way back down here.” Richie said. 

The group of six stared dumbfounded as Mike poured the water onto the ground next to him and then pointed at the river on the edge of the forest. Eddie looked down to see the small river that lay before them and then back towards Mike. Just as Eddie looked up at Mike he vanished, sinking into the ground within seconds.

There was silence as the group stood in confusion, but before a word could be said Mike popped out from the river. He sprung from the center and landed on the edge, him and his clothes seemingly untouched by the water. 12 shocked eyes stared at Mike as silence filled the air.

“Holy shit that was cool.” Richie said, still looking shocked.

Mike rubbed the back of his neck laughing awkwardly, “Uh yeah that’s kind of my thing I can travel from one place to another through water.”

“Great so Mike has cool teleporting powers, Eddie can take out 20 dudes with the wave of his hand, Ben can make an impenetrable force field, Bill can summon bears-“

“I make illusions Richie.”

“Bill can make bear illusions! Anyone else have super cool powers that I should know about? What about you Red? Is that metal hiding shark teeth?” Richie approached Bev poking at the metal before having his hand slapped away.

“Wait what’s your power Richie?” Mike asked as he walked over to join the rest of the group.

“Can’t you tell? It’s my wonderful humor.” Richie grinned showing off his buck teeth and Eddie couldn’t help but laugh. “Hey what’s so funny Sphageds? It’s not that hard to believe.” Richie walked back over to Eddie to throw his arm around his shoulder while the boy kept laughing.

“Alright we’ve been here long enough let’s head out.” Bill said, beginning to walk.

Eddie followed, the group forming almost a single file line as they traveled along the woods just beside the road. He ended up behind Richie and couldn’t help but gaze up at his black curls and ponder over things. Eddie hadn’t had the guts to admit that he had no idea how he had taken out so many of the guards. His powers were typically limited to moving things not knocking out others. Being able to affect 20 people at once was something he had never thought possible.

There was also something Richie had said that confused Eddie but after receiving the odd looks from earlier he thought to keep his mouth shut. But the question still burned at the back of his head, what was a shark?

~

Ben walked along the forest path, making sure to avoid the tree roots and rocks that littered the floor. He was extra careful to make sure that Bev was alright in front of him. Ben felt embarrassed to admit how beautiful he thought the girl was. The only other woman he would talk to regularly was his mother and the school librarian. But Ben couldn’t help but stare at her red hair, it was entrancing.

While walking Ben noticed Stan staring behind him at Bev a few times before he finally decided to say something. “We should really try to get that thing off of Bev.” Stan said looking towards them once again this time to lock eyes with Ben. “Ben do you think you can do it?”

“Me?” Ben asked.

“Yeah you can make force fields right? If you can manage to create a bubble between Bev and the mouthpiece you can expand it and the force should break it.” Stan said.

Ben looked at Bev in panic. There was no way he could do that, he was mediocre with his powers at best and that would require such precision. One false move and the force field would be in Bev’s brain.

“Stan I don’t know that sounds dangerous.” Bill said from the front of the line.

“It has a high probability of working.” Stan replies, still not breaking his stride.

“And how would you know that Mr.Smarty Pants.” Richie asks from behind Ben.

“That’s my power Richard,” Stan says, making sure to look over at Richie when he says his full name. “I can see the future, well I can see multiple futures.”

“Wait does that mean you’ll know what I’ll look like in 20 years? Tell me am I handsome or super handsome?” Richie asked while pulling a hideous expression.

Stan rolled his eyes, “It doesn’t work that way.” But despite his exasperated tone Ben could sense a hint of fondness coming from Stan. 

Richie doesn’t have a reply for that and Stan stares back at Ben finally stopping and causing the line to halt. All eyes are on Ben who tenses up under the pressure.

“Guys I really don’t think I can do this. I can’t control them that well and if I screw up I could really hurt Bev.” Ben couldn’t handle the eyes on him and looked towards the ground. He felt a hand on this shoulder and looked up to see Bev. Despite the piece around her mouth he could tell Bev was smiling and Ben felt all the more guilty. “I’m really sorry guys I just can’t” 

Beverly patted Ben’s shoulder sympathetically. He could hear Mike call from the back, “Hey man it’s alright better safe than sorry.”

But Ben couldn’t help but feel guilty. He liked to think he had these powers to help people but when the opportunity came he chickened out. The group continued their journey through the woods and with each step Ben felt worse.

They had only walked for a few more minutes before Richie shouted, “Wait! Is that a lock on the back?”

Everyone turned once again to Beverly who touched the back of the mouth piece in search of what Richie was talking about. She had found it when her fingers grazed the outline of a keyhole. She nodded vigorously at Richie. 

“I can pick any lock this side of the Mississippi! If we can find two fairly strong pieces for me to wiggle around in there I can unlock it.” Richie smiled big and bright. Ben felt envious at the confidence he oozed.

“Alright well we can look for that while we walk.” Bill said.

And so the group continued on once again, this time each one vigorously scanning the forest floor for anything Richie might be able to use. After a long search and more walking Richie was finally armed with a small piece of scrap metal and an animal’s bone.

Beverly sat on a rock while Richie began to tinker with the key hole on the back of her mouth restraint. The others crowded around, Ben was holding his breath, afraid that one false move would mean Bev would be stuck silent forever. He noticed how Richie stuck his tongue out while he was working and the quiet murmurs of cuss words that would leave his mouth anytime his hand slipped.

Ben was almost out of breath before a distinct  _ click _ was heard. Richie stepped back and the metal muzzle fell to the dirt below. The marks of it could clearly be seen along Beverly’s face, red and rubbed raw. But she had on the biggest smile, Ben couldn’t help but think she looked gorgeous.

Bev jumped up spinning around to hug Richie, “thankyouthankyouthankyou!” Ben could have been jealous over the fact that Richie has been Beverly’s “savoir” but he was too happy to see her so free that he couldn’t care less who had been the one to do it. As long as she was happy that was the most important thing.

“Whoa no problem Red, couldn’t have you being permanently mute.” Richie briefly hugged her back before she launched herself from his arms.

She made a round trip of hugging everyone quickly before she stared wild eyed at them. “Everyone cover your ears real quick.”

There were looks of confusion but everyone obliged. Bev looked around and then she let out a scream. Ben could feel the vibrations in his bones and despite the hands cupping his ears it could still be distinctly heard. Once Beverly was done Ben looked to the others to see similar reactions. Eddie had even fallen, although as soon as it was done he was offered help from Richie even though he insisted he was fine and had merely tripped.

“Sorry” Bev said looking over at Eddie with sympathy, “I haven’t been able to do that in so long.”

“We can tell,” Stan said.

“That was awesome though.” Bill said with a smile on his face.

“Yeah what was that? Like a sonic scream?” Mike asked his hand still on a nearby tree for balance.

“I guess so? I just kind of scream and then people lose their shit. Oh and the ground sometimes shakes, depending on how loud I am.” Beverly said.

“Note to self, never scare Bev.” Richie said.

There was a pause before everyone broke out into laughter. Ben looked at these people who a day ago he didn’t even know existed, now he wasn’t sure he could live without them. The journey seemed lighter now, there was another voice in the group and everyone was in high spirits. Ben smiled as they continued to chat, his heart had never felt so full.

~

Mike smiled as Richie made another lewd joke and Eddie tried not to laugh as he told him how gross he was. This is not how Mike had seen his week going but he wasn’t complaining, not one bit.

“Ow! Shit.” Stan said suddenly. He lifted his foot to inspect it and removed a sweetgum seed. Mike went over to his side immediately, having him sit down so he could look at his foot.

“Your future powers couldn’t see that?” Richie mocked.

“No but I seem to be getting a vision right now” Stan closed his eyes and dramatically rubbed his hands on the sides of his head in a circular motion, “In two seconds you will be punched in the gut by me.” Mike chuckled as he deemed Stan’s foot alright, only a scratch here and there. Stan said a gentle thanks to Mike which he replied to with a sweet smile. “Walking around with no shoes in the forest isn’t a great idea.” 

“Stan is right, the floor of this forest is covered in a ton of crud and we’re walking all over it.” Mike said as he stood up.

“Yeah my feet are taking a beating as well.” Ben chimed in.

“Well it is getting late, the sun is almost down. Maybe we should take a break? Make camp for the night and start fresh tomorrow.” Bill said.

The rest of the group nodded in agreement and they began to walk further into the woods to get even farther away from the road they had been following, just in case. They managed to find an area covered in soft grass and mostly leveled.

“I would suggest we start a fire but it will draw too much attention to this location.” Stan said from his spot next to Mike.

“Even if we wanted to, we don’t have anything to start it with.” Bill said.

“Oh I can start a fire without a lighter.” Stan replied.

“Wait really?” Ben asked in awe. Stan hummed in response but didn’t elaborate on it further. 

Everyone sat down and began to relax, they had been walking for a large portion of the day and their limbs ached with the need to rest. Mike could feel himself begin to unwind and was reminded of long days on the farm. He wanted to return to those days, he loved to work beside his parents. Mike started to wonder about the others, if they had families of their own, places they wished to return to.

Mike contemplated what he said next but couldn’t resist asking, “I don’t want to be rude-and feel free not to answer-but how did everyone end up in that facility?” Silence filled the group. The only thing that could be heard was the background noise of the wilderness. “I can go first.” Mike suggested, wishing to help ease the group, “I lived on a farm with my parents and grandfather. They all knew about my powers and even encouraged it to an extent. But I guess I wasn’t careful enough hiding it. Rumors started about me, “that black boy can do weird things” they would say. My parents always tried to protect me, they were even talking about moving, maybe a place closer to water. Unfortunately after my 17 th birthday these men in suits knocked on my door and took me away. I haven’t seen them since.” 

Another bout of silence consumed the group. He could see Stan fidgeting next to him almost like he wished to extend a hand forward and comfort him. Mike just shrugged, “It doesn’t really matter all that much, no use in trying to change the past. Right now I’m focused on what I can do about my future.” Mike said, smiling towards the group.

Bill was the next one to speak, “I lived with my mom, dad, and my little brother Georgie. Georgie is actually on the autism spectrum, it’s not too severe but he has trouble in certain social situations. My parents aren’t really that supportive of him so I took care of him a lot. I never told my parents about how I can make illusions, but Georgie loved them. If he was upset I would make little boats that would sail across his room. Of course one day my parents caught me, and well I guess they didn’t really like it too much.” Bill crossed his arms, looking off into the distance with distaste, “A week later they dropped me off at that hell hole. That was when I was about 13. I’ve been there ever since.” 

Mike's heart dropped at the thought of parents turning in their own child to such a place. His own parents had fought tooth and nail when Mike was taken. A small part of him hoped that they didn’t know how cruel the facility was, that maybe they thought it would help Bill but a bigger part of him knew how horrible people could be, even parents to their own children.

Ben cleared his throat before starting,“I uh lived alone with my mom. I never told her about the force fields, I didn’t want to cause her more stress. She already sacrificed so much for me being a single mom and all. One day I was walking home from school and was cornered by some bullies. I was used to it but when they were beating me up they saw a cat walking by and decided they wanted to force me to watch them dissect it. I couldn’t let them hurt an innocent cat. So I used my force field to protect it. They ran off calling me a freak and not long after that I was taken away.” Ben looked at the others, his eyes misty. He whipped his almost-tears with the back of his hand, “That was when I was 16”.

Bev put her hand sympathetically onto Ben’s shoulder. He smiled at her in appreciation.

“Well I guess if we’re sharing our tragic backstories I’ll go next.” Richie said as always with a smile on his face although this one looked less natural, more strained. “My parents knew about my powers since like day one. But there was an….incident that happened when I was about 14 and I hit splitsville pretty quick. It was nice being on my own, ya know? No one to nag me, no school, no parents” A sad look crossed over Richie’s face before he snapped back into a smile, “That only lasted a year though, then those fuckers snatched me right off the streets and tada! Now I’m here.”

Mike watched as Richie tried to play off his story as no big deal but he could tell it affected him. He could also see the way Eddie was looking, sad and shocked at everyone’s stories. His body pulled in on itself, shrinking backwards as if to draw less attention. Mike thought it a bit odd but decided not to comment on it. 

“My story isn’t that great either.” Bev began, “I lived with just my dad, no one knew about my powers. One day he died I was put in foster care and soon after that was taken to the facility. I was 16.” 

There was silence among the group, all conversation was held down by the heavy stories in everyone’s minds. Mike glanced over at Stan who sat tight lipped. The sun was just starting its descent into the horizon and the colours that leaked through the trees framed Stan’s face in an ethereal way. Everyone in the group was beautiful, at least in Mike’s opinion. But he thought Stan was the most handsome, or Bill, or both, he couldn’t decide. Mike couldn’t help but look over to Bill next who’s eyes sparkled in the dying light filled with sadness but also determination and hope. Yeah both, Mike thought to himself.

After more hesitation Stan decided to speak, “Since everyone else is sharing uh I guess I’ll go too. Mine’s not too exciting, my power is harder to see so it was easy to mask it for most of my life. But you can’t hide everything, the wrong people found out and I was taken at age 14.”

Mike could tell that wasn’t all to Stan’s story but it wasn’t his place to pry. He felt his heart hanging low in his chest, so many stories of sadness and isolation. He was grateful more than ever to have the time he spent with his parents, he truly did love them. The group sat around awkwardly each person brewing in their own past when Mike realized that not everyone had talked. Eddie still sat hunched in on himself and looking towards the ground.

Mike had not been the only one who noticed this as Richie spoke up, “Hey spaghetti man no fair. We all shared our stories. You can’t wiggle out of telling yours.” This caught the attention of everyone else who all looked over at the short boy. “Let me guess you were walking down the street one day and suddenly a bus of orphan’s and puppies drove off a bridge and you saved them with your badass powers!” Richie smiled over at Eddie but the boy didn’t reply.

“Hey if you don’t want to say anything you don’t have to.” Mike said.

Richie lost his smile, “Yeah Eds you really don’t have to.”

Eddie looked over at Richie and Mike was suddenly struck with the way Eddie stared at him, so much trust was there. “I don’t have a story.”

Richie looked confused as he asked, “What do you mean?”

“I’ve lived in that facility my whole life. This is the first time I’ve been outside.” Eddie said.

Looks of shock and confusion were shared amongst the group. Richie looked devastated as he stared at the others. 

“Is that why you looked so excited when you saw that tree? It was your first time seeing one?” Bill asked.

Eddie shook his head, “No it was my first time touching one.” Bill still looked perplexed, “The facility wasn’t always like how it is now. A long time ago it was more relaxed, there were less guards and the doctors were nicer. I used to be able to watch tv occasionally, of course most of it was basic stuff, the alphabet, general math, etc. But they also let me watch nature documentaries sometimes.” Eddie paused in his talk to look at the woods around them and then behind him to see the sky painted in warm colors. “I’ve never seen this in real life. I didn’t know the sky could be this pretty.”

Mike felt like he had taken everything in his life for granted, especially when Eddie sat before him with so little. He saw how the boy was looking at the sky with wonder and a faint smile on his lips. In contrast Richie sat next to him, his fists clenched tight and a lump in his throat, Mike understood that anger.

“I wanted to say thank you to everyone for sharing. I know it’s hard to talk about this stuff, we have all come from such different places.” Mike looked at each of the faces that surrounded him, “But we have all experienced the cruelty of the facility and if there’s one thing I know is that I’m not going back there and neither are any of you. We are in this together.” There was a silent agreement as Mike looked into everyone’s eyes and saw the same determination he felt. He’s not sure who moved first but soon everyone was caught in a group hug. It filled Mike with the same warmth and comfort he had forgotten about since being in the facility and he smiled to himself.

Soon after everyone broke up they tried their best to get as comfortable as possible in order to sleep. Mike offered to take the first watch despite how exhausted he felt. He leaned up against a tree and watched as the others fell into a light sleep. Mike thought all the others were fast asleep when he began to hum softly to himself but was shocked when he felt a hand touch his arm. He scrambled a bit before hearing a shh and squinting enough in the dark to see that it was only Bill.

“Jesus Bill you almost gave me a heart attack.” Mike whispered.

Bill chuckled softly, “Sorry sorry, that wasn’t my goal I swear. I just wanted to say thanks for getting us all to start sharing and stuff. I think everyone has a little more trust in one another.”

Mike couldn’t see Bill’s face but could tell just from the inflection in his voice that he was smiling, “Of course. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t at least a little curious about everyone.” 

“Yeah me too” Bill whispered back. There was a pause and Mike almost thought that Bill had fallen asleep. “I know that facility is looking for us, they might be looking for us our whole lives, but if I ever get the chance I want to see my little brother again. I just want to make sure he is ok.”

“I’ll try to make that happen, Bill. He sounds like a great brother.” Mike said, his voice still a whisper.

Mike thought he might have heard a sniffle but chose to ignore it. “Yeah he really is.” There was the sound of shuffling before Bill spoke again, “Hey Mike do you mind if I lean against you? It's getting kind of cold.”

Mike felt himself blush and was thankful that the sun had set, “Uh yeah- I mean of course. It is getting pretty chilly. I’m pretty sure that Richie and Eddie are cuddled against each other right now.”

Bill leaned his head against Mike’s shoulder laughing, “Yeah what’s up with them? I was so sure they knew each other before the facility, at least that’s how they act.”

“Who knows. I mean I just met all of you guys but I feel like we’re already great friends.”

Mike felt Bill place his hand on his arm, “Yeah we are great friends.”

Soon Mike could feel the rhythmic breathing of Bill’s chest and he smiled to himself,  _ great friends. _

~

Stan heard the murmur of voices above him and shifted to try and block them out. That was before he heard Richie’s voice boom above the others.

“Should we wake up the sleeping beauties or wait till a prince comes along to kiss them?”

Stan shifted once again, this time rubbing his eyes with his hands. He noticed that he was not on the plush grass below him but instead leaned up against a soft figure. Upon fully opening his eyes Stan was met with the sight of Richie, Eddie, Beverly, and Ben all standing before him.

“Good morning sunshine!” Richie beamed.

Stan scowled at him turning to see what he was leaning against only to be met with the sight of Mike and next to him Bill. They were both still asleep with Mike leaning his head on top of Bill’s but his arm lazily slung around Stan. A heat spread across Stan’s cheeks and he sprung up in an attempt to quell his embarrassment. The movement stirred Mike who began to wake up along with Bill. Stan could hear quiet laughter coming from the group of four.

He chose not to look at Bill and Mike as they stood up from their previous position. “We should get moving if we want to make it to town today.” Although Stan had seen the different possible futures and he knew that even if they stayed longer they would have enough time to make it to civilization before the sunset. 

They all began their journey once more towards the town. After their sharing yesterday everyone seemed more relaxed. There was more chatting, jokes, and a bit of roughhousing. Stan kept silent for the most part, only speaking when necessary and definitely avoiding eye contact with Mike and Bill.

Stan suspects that after resting up against the tree to try to sleep he had inevitably leaned up against Mike. He was not typically one for affection, his parents never displayed it and Stan never asked for it. That’s just how it was.

The group of seven walked for a few more hours before someone shouted that they could see a sign for a town. Sure enough when Stan looked over he saw a dilapidated sign, its paint chipped and faded. Everyone’s pace quickened but they hesitated once they saw that the forest would break into an open field.

“Stan can your future vision tell us if we’ll get caught walking out in the open?” Bill asked.

Stan closed his eyes and tried to focus, several paths were shown before him most led to them being safe but two were fuzzy. “I think we’ll be fine but we need to be careful, move quickly.”

Bill nodded at that and they began their journey closer to town. Stan could almost feel the paranoia dripping off everyone. He looked over at Eddie to see him clinging to Richie’s arm, his eyes filled with equal amounts of fear and awe. Stan almost scoffed at Eddie’s excitement but then remembered how this was his first time outside the facility and immediately felt guilty.

Halfway through walking Stan noticed that Eddie had let go of Richie’s arm and began to lag behind everyone. No one else seemed to take note, too focused on getting to a safe spot as soon as possible. Stan slowed down his pace so he was only a few steps ahead of Eddie. Not because he was particularly concerned but if Eddie got caught it could mean all of them would get caught as well, at least that’s what he told himself.

Soon he could hear a sound of distress coming from Eddie and he turned around just in time before he collapsed onto the grass below.

“Woah!” Stan shouted as he grabbed Eddie’s limp body.

His call gained the attention of the others and Richie rushed over. “Hey Eds you alright? Come on lift your head look at me.”

Eddie looked up at Richie and tried his best to wiggle free from Stan’s grip, “I’m fine, my head just hurts. I’ll be fine, let's keep walking.”

“You don’t look fine to me.” Richie said his eyebrows furrowing, “Here” Richie knelt down, his arms reaching behind him in anticipation. “Piggy back ride come on.”

“No Richie I’m fine really.”

“Get on before I carry you bridal style” There was a pause, “Like the way I did when we escaped.”

Eddie looked hesitant but hopped onto Richie’s back resting his head against Richie and closing his eyes contentedly. “Thank you Stan for catching me” is all Eddie said before Richie began to start walking again. Stan just nodded his head despite Eddie not being able to see it. 

The rest of the journey was uneventful and soon the group came upon an old farmhouse. It looked abandoned with its decaying porch and broken windows but it was shelter for now. Everyone rushed inside and was met with neglected furniture and dust.

“Home sweet home” Richie said, Eddie still hanging off his back. Stan was starting to wonder if Richie’s power was strength or if Eddie really was as light as he felt when catching him.

“Well it will do for now.” Mike said looking around.

“Looks haunted,” Bev said matter-of-factly. Ben nodded beside her. 

They all began to wander the house, Stan assumed to make sure it was un-occupied but he didn’t need to search he already knew. There was a creak as Bev started up the steps to the second floor, Stan suddenly saw a new path. “Hey Bev don’t head upstairs, the floor is unstable you’ll fall through.”

Beverly immediately stepped back onto the first floor, “Thanks Stan, I don’t need any broken bones.” She smiled at him and Stan tried to return it just as earnestly.

Richie had managed to find a couch in the living room and gently deposited Eddie onto it. Stan could see them talking to one another in hushed voices before Richie smiled and stood up.

“So what do we do now my dear comrades?” Richie said standing on the threshold of the Kitchen and living room.

“Well I think the next thing to do is get out of these uniforms. They draw too much attention.” Bill said.

“How are we going to do that? We have no money.” Beverly questioned.

Bill thought for a moment before shrugging his shoulders, “I guess the best thing is to just head into town and see what’s around maybe if they have a Laundromat we can swipe a few things.”

No one objected to the idea all nodding their heads. “Who’s going?” Richie asked “Because Eddie can’t be walking around right now and I don’t want to leave him alone.”

“That’s fine, it would probably be best if most of us stayed here. A group of seven people all wearing the same thing with no shoes is not the most inconspicuous.” Bill replied. “So who wants to go?”

“I’ll come along,” Mike said.

“Awesome, anyone else?” Bill looked towards the others but no one said anything. “Alright me and Mike will head out and try to be back as soon as possible.”

After that Mike and Bill headed out leaving Ben, Bev, Stan, Richie, and Eddie alone in the beaten up house. Richie had taken to sitting on the floor next to the couch chit chatting with Eddie when he was able to. Beverly and Ben had decided to explore the basement which had a few left behind boxes of mysterious items. Stan stood in the kitchen looking to see if anything worked, it had been a full day since they escaped the facility and they would have to start discussing how to obtain food.

Stan’s head buzzed with the stress of trying to figure out how to survive. He tried to use his vision to look ahead in time but there were too many paths. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a particularly loud laugh coming from the living room, Richie was cackling at something Eddie had said. Stan sighed and made his way out the kitchen door that led to the backyard, he needed some space. It had been so long since he had spent time with others like this, even before being thrown in the facility he wasn’t known to be social.

Stan sat down on the steps that led to the backyard after deeming them sturdy enough. The yard looked just as abandoned as the house itself, overgrown grass with weeds sticking up every which way. There was a large oak tree fairly close with a well nearby and in the far off distance Stan could spot a dilapidated barn. He closed his eyes trying to focus on his breathing and not the multiple futures that popped up behind his eyelids. It was all too much for him at times.

The door behind him creaked on its hinges, slamming shut unceremoniously. “Hey Stan the man, I was wondering where you headed off to.”

“Hello Richie.” Stan said, his tone far less enthusiastic than Richie’s.

“Can I sit next to you?” Richie asked but didn’t wait for a reply as he plopped down next to Stan.

“I thought you were with Eddie.”

“Yeah but his head started hurting real bad so I convinced him to try and sleep.” Richie said. Stan didn’t respond other than a hum of acknowledgment. They both sat there in silence before Richie spoke up again. “Thanks for catching Eddie back there, it was dumb of me to not notice him feeling bad.”

Stan turned to Richie who wore such a genuine smile that Stan easily returned it. “No problem Richie.”

Richie turned to look at the large oak tree situated in the far corner of the backyard. He began to pick at his nails, “Is Eddie going to be ok? Like can your future vision see if he’ll always have these headaches?”

Stan frowned, “Sorry Richie it doesn’t work like that.”

Richie let out a sigh, “Yeah I didn’t think so. Thanks anyway buddy.”

They fell back into silence. Stan looked towards the oak tree and saw a bird sitting on one of the branches. It was mainly blue but had a white stomach and flecks of black along its wings and tail.

“What a pretty bird” Richie said

“It’s a cerulean warbler”

Richie turned to look at Stan, “Don’t tell me your other power is knowing every bird species?”

Stan rolled his eyes, “No Richie I just read books, ever heard of those?” Richie barked out laughter placing his hand on Stan’s shoulder. Stan smiled but faltered when he remembered the question that had been bothering him all day. “Richie what’s your power?”

Richie paused in his laughter looking at Stan with cautious eyes. “Didn’t I already tell everyone? It’s my ability to tell hilarious jokes.” Stan looked at Richie silently telling him that wouldn’t work on him, “C’mon Stanny boy can’t your future vision already tell what it is?”

“It can, I just want to hear you say it.”

Richie groaned placing his head in his hands. He hesitated and Stan was almost ready to drop the subject. “So I can like transform into well…a beast basically.”

Stan stared at Richie who still had his head in his hands, he could tell this wasn’t something he would typically share. Distantly he wondered what this beast would look like but he didn’t push it. “Is that why you’re strong enough to carry Eddie even when running?”

“Yeah I tend to keep my strength even when not transformed.” Richie lifted his head up smiling at Stan despite him looking close to tears, “Plus that kid weighs like two pounds, you felt that when you caught him right? What is he made of feathers?”

Stan chuckled, Richie was a goofball but he had a big heart. “He’s like 5’5” Richie of course he is going to weigh a little less, what are you like 6' 0"? That’s almost a foot taller.”

“I’m 6’2” good sir and don’t you forget it.” Richie rubbed his hand against his eyes “I’m pretty sure Mike is like an inch or two taller than me so I’m not even the tallest here. But I bet you know all about his height huh? You seemed very close to him this morning.” Richie wiggled his eyebrows at Stan who could already feel his face heating up.

“Shut up, that was an accident. Anyway I saw the way you were cuddling up with Eddie you have no right to talk!”

“Eds was shaking like a leaf, what was I supposed to do, let the poor boy die when my warm body was right there ripe for the taking!”

They both broke out into laughter. Stan felt himself relax a little, talking with Richie was easy, maybe that’s just how his personality was. Although a small voice in the back of Stan’s head reminded him to keep a distance, it was for the best.

Richie stood up, “I’m going to head back inside, check on Eddie and all that. It was nice talking with you Stan.”

Stan smiled “It was nice talking to you as well Richie.” Richie went to reach for the door handle, “Oh Richie”

“Yeah Stan?”

“My future vision couldn’t tell what your power was, sorry.”

Richie looked at Stan, his face in slight shock before smiling, “It doesn’t work like that?”

Stan shook his head, a smile still on his face, “It doesn’t work like that.”

Richie walked back into the house while Stan continued to stare at the oak tree, his face still containing a faint smile. He enjoyed his talk with Richie but also felt some regret over the possibility that he shared too much, that now Richie knew too much. Stan had decided a long time ago that it was best for him to be alone.

~

Bill burst through the front door of the abandoned house. “We got shit!” He sang, hauling two white trash bags over his shoulder and into the house. Mike followed in after him carrying two more trash bags and a large paper shopping bag.

“Shhh Eds is sleeping.” Richie hissed as he popped his head into the foyer.

“Sorry, sorry!” Bill stage whispered, “We got some stuff though!” He smiled and gestured to the bags he had in his hands.

“Jesus Billium did you rob a store?”

“Eh kind of?”

The group moved to the kitchen where a dining table still sat and dropped the bags by the legs of it. Just then the kitchen door swung open and Stan came in.

“I see you have a few things” Stan said as he gestured to the bags.

Richie couldn’t resist and began to open one of the trash bags finding a pile of clothes inside. “Seriously did you guys rob a store?”

“I wouldn’t consider it robbery, the people were tossing it anyway.” Bill said

“We walked into town and found a goodwill, someone was dropping off a ton of things in the back and no one was around to take it so we kind of sneaked by after they left and took it ourselves.” Mike said, looking sheepish.

“Hey they were getting rid of it anyway and we need it so why not” Bill said.

Richie just shrugged and began to root through the bag pulling out several items of clothes to display on the table.

“We grabbed as much as we could. We didn’t know everyone’s size and you can’t really window shop when everything is in a trash bag.” Mike said before remembering the bag lying by his feet “Oh and this one should have shoes, we guesstimated everyone’s size and then grabbed as many shoes as we could carry.”

“Finally” Stan sighed “I swear I’m starting to get calluses on my soles.”

Stan took the shopping bag and –just like Richie- began to set them out on display. Bill smiled, it had been a long journey to town and he was nervous most of the way but Mike was nice company and their haul was impressive.

“Oh sweet clothes!” Bev said from the threshold. She ran to the table to look at what was laid out. “Where did you guys get this stuff?”

“They robbed a store,” Richie said.

“Sweet” Bev smiled as she picked up a dress and inspected it.

“We didn’t! It’s like borrowing in a way right?” Mike said turning to Bill who just shrugged.

Ben walked into the kitchen a box held in his arms and a smile on his face. “Me and Bev looked through the basement and found some stuff” Ben laid the box on the only part of the table not covered by clothes.

“I’m surprised no one else has plundered this house.” Bev said “But we found a few things that we could probably pawn off and get some cash.”

“Great because I’m starving,” Richie said, his arms already filled with a pile of clothes.

“There was a small pawn shop in town!” Mike said.

“Ok so we take all this junk, sell as much as possible, get money and shop for supplies.” Bill smiled.

“Yeah but it’s already getting late, even if you leave now by the time you are done at the pawn shop the general store will be closed.” Stan said as he put the last pair of shoes on the ground.

“Well what should we do? We can’t go another day without eating.” Mike said.

Stan turned to look at Richie, Bill could tell he knew something that the others didn’t. There was a small part of Bill that felt a little jealous that they had such a connection. Richie looked confused at Stan before realization crossed his face and he began to shake his head wildly. But Stan gave him a stern look, his eyes briefly scanning over to the living room then back to Richie.

Richie sighed, “I can probably hunt for something for us to eat.” Stan smirked next to him “But even if I did we need to clean and cook it.”

“Well I can start a fire easily. I don’t know how to prepare an animal for eating but there was some cutlery left, we should be able to figure it out.” Stan said.

“Oh I know how to skin and clean an animal.” Mike said stepping forward, “I grew up on a farm so it should be no problem. I do need water though.”

Stan motioned to the kitchen door, “Don’t worry there is a well out back it should still have water in it.”

“Awesome!” Bill beamed, “We got clothes, a plan for dinner, and tomorrow we can get some money.” He felt himself swell with hope for the future, a feeling he had missed.

“Cool, now I’m going to go try on clothes in the bathroom so no barging in.” Bev said as she left the kitchen, a pile of clothes in her arms.

“I think I found my outfit” Richie smiled holding up a band tee, ripped jeans, and the most horrid button down Bill had ever seen. He began to take off his uniform shirt before pausing “Gosh no peeking perverts.”

Everyone turned around facing the table. Bill began to rifle through the clothes laid out, finding a shirt that would presumably fit and a pair of jean shorts. He looked over at Mike who was inspecting a pair of pants and Stan who held up a light green button down. Bill found himself being drawn to them more so than the others and distantly wondered if that meant anything.

“Ta da!” Bev popped back into the kitchen wearing a spaghetti strap dress that laid over a white t-shirt. The dress had obviously been a bit big for Bev as she had fashioned a belt to hold it up for her just below her chest but she wore it well.

“You look great Red” Richie said just as he finished throwing his gaudy button up over his shirt.

Bill could see Ben out of the corner of his eye. He looked purely smitten over Bev’s look and Bill couldn’t help but smile. Ben was very sweet. He really hoped the best for him.

“You look lovely Bev.” Ben said his cheeks tinted pink.

“Aw thanks” Bev smiled back at him, “Let me see what you got” She went over and began to inspect what he had in his hands, picking up more things for him and putting away others.

Bill smiled again, watching as Mike tried on a shirt and deemed it too big. After more rifling and a few trips back and forth to the bathroom, everyone had an outfit. Not everything was perfect, Stan had to fold his shirt sleeves several times just to have his hands poking out and you could clearly see Mike’s ankles since his pants were just a bit too short. Ben also had a hard time finding a shirt that Bev deemed adequate but they eventually settled on a soft blue shirt that had a logo for some amusement park on it. Once everyone’s outfit was done they began the more difficult task of finding shoes that would actually fit them.

As they were looking over the shoes and passing them back and forth to one another Eddie emerged from the living room. He was rubbing his eyes while his hair was sticking up at odd angles. 

“Oh” He paused mid-step, “Everyone looks different.”

Richie smiled shooting up from his seat on the floor, “Spageds! How you feeling buddy?”

“Richie, don't call me that you know my name now.” Eddie pouted but Bill could feel that he didn’t really mind the names Richie called him, there was never any malice in his words “I’m good though, I feel a lot better. Thanks Rich.”

Richie absolutely beamed at the nickname and led Eddie over to the table of clothes. “Good ‘ol Big Bill and Mikey brought us back a plethora of goods.”

Eddie looked at the clothes on the table and then at Richie, “And you chose those?”

The group burst out into laughter while Richie sputtered, “Hey now! My fashion sense is fantastic!”

Eddie just chuckled before picking at the pile before him. He puts a few into his arms before he stops and stares at a white t-shirt with flowers embroidered all along the front. Bill can see the excitement in his eyes as he smiles and snatches it off the table before scurrying off to the bathroom.

Bill turns his attention back to finding shoes that will fit. He accomplishes this when he finds a pair of converses that are a little loose in the heel but should work. Everyone else has found something to wear; Bev is smiling at the boots she found that miraculously fit just right. Eddie returns from the bathroom wearing small red running shorts and the flower top he found. Bill looks over to Richie and sees him blushing but decides not to point it out.

After a moment of relaxation the group begins their quest to obtain food. Richie talks to Stan before leaving out the back door shouting about how he’ll bring home the bacon. Bill isn’t sure how Richie is planning on catching anything but he assumes it has something to do with his powers. He doesn’t have time to question further as Stan asks for his help in building the fire and Bill happily obliges.

Bill brings the few things Stan has requested and watches in awe as he sets up a fire pit. “Where did you learn how to do this?” He can’t help but ask.

Stan doesn’t look up as he answers, “I uh-was in the boy scouts. They teach you how to do all sorts of outdoorsy stuff.”

“You’re really good at it.”

Stan scoffs, “I haven’t even built the fire yet.”

“Yeah but still, I think you’re amazing. You know all this stuff. I only know a few bedtimes stories, oh and the beginning soliloquy to Romeo and Juliet.”

Stan chuckles, “Wait really? That’s so odd but also oddly cool, the only thing I’m good at reciting is bird species.”

“You like birds?” Bill asks and Stan nods uncharacteristically excited “What’s your favorite kind?”

“Bill choosing a favorite kind of bird is like choosing a favorite child, it’s impossible!”

Bill laughs, “Sorry didn’t know that every bird was your child.”

Stan smiles up at Bill and he can feel a tightness in his chest, Stan is very handsome, Bill thinks to himself. Just then Mike walks out back two large knives and a fork in his hand. He also smiles towards Bill and his heart gets a case of déjà vu, Mike is also very handsome.

The three begin to chat as Mike grabs a pail of water from the well and Stan gets the fire started. Bill feels comfortable when he is with Mike and Stan like his heart is at ease.

As they continue to debate over the best flavor of ice cream Richie emerges from the forest, clothes a bit dirtier than earlier and three dead rabbits clutched in his right hand. He looks a bit wary before seeing the others and breaking into his usual goofy grin.

They manage to prepare an under-spiced but alright meal, after almost two days with no food just about anything would taste like a gourmet dinner. The rabbit has more flavor than anything that Bill was served at the facility. Everyone finishes their portion, although Ben seems torn up about eating a rabbit. The sun has already begun to set by the time they are done. Stan suggests putting out the fire so they don’t draw any unwanted attention to the house.

The group of seven head inside, grateful that Mike and Bill had swiped a few blankets that were left outside the Goodwill. As they start debating who should get the honor of sleeping on the couch a noise is heard outside. The faintest taps sound against the roof and when Bill looks out the window he sees that it is raining.

He starts to worry if the broken windows will be a problem but then Eddie speaks up. “What is that?” He asks, his voice part curious and frightened.

Bill stares at him in shock before realizing that Eddie has probably never experienced rain, his heart falls a little at the thought.

“That’s rain.” Stan says.

“Oh that’s rain? I’ve read about it before but never seen it. It doesn’t hurt right?”

Richie smiles before grabbing a hold of Eddie’s wrist, “Why don’t we go see for ourselves”

Richie pulls Eddie to the back door and is followed by the rest of the group. They stand with the door open as Richie takes Eddie’s hand and moves it to where the rain can touch it. Eddie flinches at first but soon relaxes as the droplets hit the palm of his hand. He begins to giggle at the feeling, Bill can’t help but smile at his excitement.

Bill turns to Mike and sees him staring at the rain then a devious smile crosses his face. “Hey Eddie do you know what the game tag is?” Eddie turned from staring at his palm to look at Mike, he shook his head, “It’s a game where one person is ‘it’ and has to chase around the other players and try to touch or ‘tag’ them. When the person who is ‘it’ tags the other person they become ‘it’ and try to tag someone else.” Eddie continued to look at Mike, nodding along with eyes wide. “Do you want to play?” Eddie nodded furiously and Mike grabbed his wrist dragging him into the backyard.

Eddie hesitates when he feels the rain hitting him but Mike continues to smile as he lets go of Eddie’s wrist and touches his shoulder gently, “tag, you’re it.”

Mike begins to back away as Eddie stands there confused before he tries to reach out and touch Mike back who dodges immediately by teleporting. Mike stands a few feet away from Eddie with a smug smile on his face. Richie starts laughing as Eddie runs to tag Mike who teleports again using the rain to his advantage.

“Wait I’m playing too!” Richie shouts before running into the backyard, followed by Ben and Bev.

Bill stands there watching as they all run around laughing. Mike is teleporting from one spot to another with ease while Ben uses his force field to block any potential tagging. Eddie is smiling as he tries to get Bev who uses her shout just enough to push him away. Stan stands next to Bill watching the chaos unfold before him.

Mike teleports in front of them a grin plastered onto his face, “Hey Stan guess what.”

Stan raised an eyebrow, “What?”

“You’re it.” Mike reached over and delicately poked Stan’s chest before teleporting farther back into the yard.

“What that’s not even fair Mike I’m not playing!” But as Stan shouted he was already halfway into the backyard trying to tag someone else.

Bill felt a warmth rise in his chest looking at these people he had known for so little time. He had always thought that it would be him and Georgie against the world but now he had six other people to care for, people that he trusted who understood him and accepted him. Bill loved these people and he felt himself moved to tears at the thought.

He smiled as Richie -who had been deemed “it”- picked up Eddie and slung him over his shoulder. Eddie screeched howling with laughter as Richie began to run around. For a split second Bill could have sworn that the rain paused. The droplets suspended in time, but as soon as he noticed it he blinked and the rain continued as normal.

Just as he was about to question it further he heard Bev call from the yard, “You coming to play Bill or are you just going to stand there like a sourpuss?”

Bill smiled, “I was just trying to give everyone a handicap but if you insist.”

Using his powers Bill created a copy of himself to run around, tricking everyone into tagging the decoy instead of him. The rain was warm on his skin and reminded him of riding his bike during summer storms. He laughed and ran around feeling freer than he ever had in his life. 

They played for longer than Bill thought possible, all of them too happy being able to feel the pure abandonment of letting loose with their powers. Afterwards they wandered back into the house soaked and exhausted. Everyone ended up needing to change in order to let their initial outfits dry. Their previous discussion of who would sleep on the couch resumed and was only ended when they all played a game of rock paper scissors for it.

Bill was thankful that they had found blankets outside of the Goodwill, there wasn’t enough for everyone meaning they would have to share but no one seemed to mind. Bill took note of how Richie immediately called dibs on Eddie as his “blanket-buddy”, they were an odd pair but also complimented each other well. After using any leftover clothes as make-shift pillows the group of seven settled down for the night.

Bill managed to fall into a restless sleep for a few hours before waking up. He wasn’t sure what time it was but looking outside it seemed the sun had not made its faithful crawl across the sky yet. The house was still coated in dark shadows and looking around Bill could see that everyone else was still sleeping.

He tried his best to fall back asleep but was unable to keep still, so he crept passed the unconscious bodies on the floor and made his way out the front door and onto the dilapidated porch. Bill sat on the front steps listening to the quiet chirp of crickets and the rustling of wind through the trees. His brain couldn’t stop running with questions, would they be able to evade the facility? Could they survive with no money and nowhere to go? Would he ever be able to see Georgie again?

Bill startled at the sound of the front door opening, he looked over to see Richie standing there, his glasses slipping down his nose.

“Couldn’t fall asleep?” Richie asked.

“Nah, my brain is racing too much.”

Richie let out a dry chuckle, “Oh I feel that” He sat down next to Bill, his long legs extending down to the last step.

They sat there in silence, both looking at the long winding driveway that led to the main road. The field on the opposite side of the road glowed with the flicker of lightning bugs and Bill thought it quite beautiful. But he had a question he had wanted to ask Richie.

“Hey Richie, why did you call Eddie ‘spaghetti’ when we were escaping and then in the car?” Bill asked.

Richie smiled still looking towards the field, “Well when I was first put in the facility I was what you would call a ‘problem child’. I refused to do anything they asked and threw a fit all the time. So, as you can imagine, I got punished a lot. One week the punishment was no food and by the fourth day I was really struggling. As I was sitting in my room I heard the little metal slide at the bottom of my door open. I thought ‘oh shit they decided to give me food’ but I didn’t hear any guards outside. Suddenly woosh! In slides a tray full of spaghetti.” Richie let out a huff of laughter “If I hadn’t have been sitting on the floor that tray would have slammed into my wall. Of course I was curious so I went to look through the metal slide and what do I see? A hand waving back at me from across the hall.”

Bill sat staring at Richie who beamed next to him. “So Eddie gave you his food?”

“Yeah this little fucker probably heard me bemoaning in the hallway every time the guards dragged me off for testing and thought to himself ‘well I’ll give up one of my meals, risking getting punished myself, for this random dude I’ve never met’, like can you believe that?” Richie’s eyes shined as he looked at Bill, admiration filled them to the point that Bill was afraid it would spill over. “Of course after that I referred to him as ‘Spaghetti’. His name actually rhyming with spaghetti is just a bonus.”

Bill smiled at the story and all the wild hand gestures Richie had made along the way to accentuate his points. It gave him a new perspective on their relationship and Eddie himself.

“Oh he also apparently referred to me as ‘Trashmouth’, more than likely from that one time I had listed every cuss word I knew to that hardcore catholic guard and he screamed calling me a sinner and a trashmouth.”

“Jesus” Bill chuckled, “You guys were friends even before seeing each other.”

At that a fond smile crossed Richie’s face, “yeah I guess we were.”

Bill smiled but it faltered as he spoke, “I didn’t even know there were other people like me in the facility. I thought I was the only one ‘till our breakout.”

Richie didn’t have anything to say to that and Bill couldn’t blame him. There wasn’t much to say.

“Why did they treat us like that? They had the ability to make those tests less painful, they knew what they were doing to us but they did it anyway.” Bill’s speech began to grow frantic and he could feel warm tears make their way down his face.

Richie's face was solemn, “Because they think we’re dangerous.” 

Bill paused for a moment his voice coming out barely above a whisper, “I don’t feel dangerous. I feel scared.”

Richie pulled Bill into his arms hugging him close to his chest, “I’m scared too.” In the haze of the night Bill didn’t notice but when recalling it later he would remember the feeling of Richie’s tears on his shirt. “But we have each other now and I’m so grateful for that. We just have to stick together.”

Bill nodded his head into Richie’s chest letting his tears flow until there was nothing left. When he pulled away from Richie he smiled and chuckled when noticing his skewed glasses.

Richie stood up, fixing his glasses and offering a hand to Bill, “Come on Big Bill I don’t want the others thinking we’re boning out here, I have my pure image to keep up.”

Bill scoffed, “Sure anything you say Trashmouth.”

Richie gave his same toothy grin and they walked back into the house. Bill looked over towards the field one last time and closed the door behind him, content and ready to sleep.

~

Beverly kicked a rock to the side of the road. After waking up everyone had quickly decided that they needed to get supplies today. Bev had volunteered to take the items to the pawn shop and get as much money as she could and Ben offered to join. She was more than happy to have Ben come with her, she enjoyed his company. He had a sweet demeanor. Beverly always felt that she needed to be on guard around others but Ben made her feel relaxed and the concept scared her.

“I can take over carrying the box for a bit Ben.” Beverly turned around from where she was in front of the boy to see him red in the face, his white knuckles clutching the box.

“No it’s alright, the box is heavy I don’t want you to have to carry it.” Ben huffed.

Beverly rolled her eyes before snatching the box from Ben’s hands, “Come on I don’t mind carrying it.” 

They continued their walk to the town. Bev regretted leaving the truck behind, the heat was beating down on both of them causing her shirt to stick to her skin with sweat. At least she had a dress that allowed for some air flow, meanwhile the only pants Ben could find that fit were jeans. She looked over at him and noticed the sweat along his brow.

Ben turned to Beverly and smiled, “Your hair looks pretty in the sunlight.”

Beverly was used to compliments, especially from boys. They would use their honey words to lure her in but tossed her aside once they got what they wanted. Although she got a different feeling from Ben’s words, there was no hungry look in his eyes.

“Oh please I’m sweating up a storm, I look like a mess.” She replied.

“You always look beautiful Beverly.” Ben said it so matter-of-fact that Bev was thrown off.

“Oh yeah? What if I was puking my guts out?” She said.

Ben laughed, “Yeah puking isn’t the prettiest thing to do. But it’s still you, same hair, same eyes, same smile, same laugh. So I still think you would look beautiful.”

Beverly felt warmth that rivaled the sun’s bloom in her chest but she pushed it down, now was not the time.

They chit chatted as they walked and finally after some time the town could be seen along the horizon.

“Oh thank God!” Beverly cried, “I hope the pawn shop has air conditioning.”

“Mike said it was a block away from Main Street,” Ben said but Beverly had already taken off.

Ben had a hard time keeping up with her, despite her carrying the heavy box. Beverly’s eyes lit up at the sight of shops and the few people that were out. Ben smiled at her enthusiasm trying his best to lead her in the direction of the pawn shop.

Once they were finally in front of “Rick’s Fast Cash Pawn Shop” Beverly turned to Ben, “Ok I’m going to do most of the talking just follow my lead ok?” Ben nodded.

They entered the shop and made their way to the counter where a burly man stood. No air conditioning, Bev bitterly thought to herself.

“Hello sir” Beverly said “We have some items and were wondering how much we could trade them in for.” The man across the counter looked up from his magazine and then towards the box.

“Ok darlin’ what do you have?” He shot Bev a slimy smile.

She plopped the box onto the counter, the items inside it clinking against one another from the force. Beverly watched as the man looked through the box, she knew it was mainly junk. The only things that might be worth something is some decent jewelry and an old but intact flute.

The man hummed as he inspected a few of the items. “Well there isn’t much in here worth selling unfortunately. I can give you maybe 100$ for everything and that's being generous.”

Beverly could tell the man was lying, but that was his job essentially, too bad she was better at it.

“Only 100$? That sounds a little off, the flute is from a limited run that Giorgessi only did from 1960 to 1980. And I know that the rings and watch are all 24 karat gold.” Beverly tilted her head to the side, looking confused.

The man squinted his eyes at her, “Is that so?” He looked into the box one more time and then over at Ben before finally resting his eyes on Beverly, “How do I know that this is even yours, maybe you just stole it.” 

At this Beverly looked offended, “Stole this? Sir this is from my grandmother.” Beverly began to tear up, “She died recently and we are in financial trouble. I would never dare think of selling this any other time but-“ Beverly turned to wipe at her eyes, "my boyfriend desperately needs the money for his medication.” She began to grab for the box “If you don’t want it we can take it to some other shop.”

The man grabbed the box, “No, no that won’t be necessary. Sorry little lady that’s just what I have to ask everyone. I’m sorry to hear about your grandma, but I think the most I can do for this stuff is 130$.”

Beverly wiped away her last crocodile tear, “How about 200$?”

“140$”

“150$ and that butane stove top” Beverly pointed to a little portable stove top that sat in the corner.

The man looked over at the item and then at the box of things, he extended his hand, “You got yourself a deal.”

Beverly smiled as she shook his hand and after getting the stove top and the 150$ they made their way out of the pawn shop and towards the general goods store.

“That was amazing Beverly! I didn’t know you could cry on cue like that.” Ben grinned.

Beverly chuckled, “Well that guy was easy. I have no idea if that flute even works and I’m pretty sure that watch is fool’s gold.” She clapped her hands together, “Let’s go get some supplies!”

The trip to the general store was uneventful; they were able to pick up the supplies Stan had told them to grab and a small pot for their new butane stove top. On the way to the general store Beverly had spotted two quarters on the ground and used those on a gumball machine, a red gumball for Bev and a blue one for Ben.

The duo was walking through the town making their way back to the house. Beverly was chewing on her bubble gum, blowing a bubble on occasion just to see how Ben laughed when it popped.

“Beverly”

“Yeah Ben?” Beverly switched the shopping bag around in her hand.

“Thank you for being a friend to me.” Beverly turned her head at this, “I wasn’t uh the most popular kid in school, didn’t have a lot of people to talk to. It’s been really nice to have you around, and everyone else for that matter.”

Ben shot Beverly the most genuine smile she had ever seen, it lit up his whole face. Beverly could not understand how Ben was not popular, not with that smile. He was stocky and his face still held some of his baby fat but Beverly thought it added to how handsome he was, anyone who thought otherwise was just wrong. Most importantly though was that Ben was so kind, kinder than Beverly thought any one person could be. 

“It’s been nice having you around too.” Beverly smiled, “But you not being popular? Impossible. You’re like the nicest person.”

Ben looked to the ground, face fallen, “I get told I’m too sensitive, that I need to man up.”

“Being caring is not a flaw, and being kind is not a weakness. If those things make you unmanly then fuck manliness!” Ben perked up at that, “Plus that’s what I like about you, that and your pretty eyes, and handsome face.”

Ben blushed, “Oh my God stop Bev my face is going to be the shade of a tomato.”

“What, I can’t compliment my dear friend?” Bev cupped her hands over her mouth “Ben is handsome!” She shouted, the trash can on the street falling over due to her sonic scream. “Oops” 

They turned to look at each other before laughing and continuing out of the town. Beverly was happy to walk along the road kicking the occasional stone and chewing on her flavorless gum a comfortable silence sitting between them but then Ben spoke up.

“Beverly I don’t want to be rude and you definitely don’t have to tell me, but um…how did your dad die?” Beverly whipped her head over to look at Ben, “You know my dad is dead too. He was actually a firefighter, a really good one. One day he went to put out a fire and never came back. I never asked my mom how he died, I don’t think I want to know.” Beverly looked over at Ben, his face somber.

She didn’t answer immediately, still too hesitant. But when she looked over at Ben she mustered up enough courage to speak, “I’m sorry Ben, he sounds like he was a great guy.” Ben nodded as he teared up. “My dad wasn’t a great guy, he was a bastard. One day he tried to hurt me, more than usual,” Ben was watching his eyes wide, “so I killed that fucker.”

Ben stopped walking and stared at Beverly who stood there not making eye contact. She knew what was coming next, he would call her crazy and leave.

“I’m glad he can’t hurt you anymore. You never deserved that.”

Beverly’s chest tightened and she cried. The tears rolled down her cheeks only to converge at her chin and drip onto the road below them.

“I just screamed as loud as I could and the whole house came down. I never meant to kill him. I never meant to hurt anyone, I just wanted to live my life.” The tears wouldn’t stop, Beverly tried to wipe them away as fast as she could but they wouldn’t stop.

Ben walked over to Beverly and slowly wrapped his hand around hers. His warm touch grounded her and she squeezed his hand.

The tears soon slowed down and she wiped her nose with the back of her hand. “You know it’s a shame we never went to the same school, I think we would have been great friends.” Ben smiled at Beverly and she smiled back because she knew it was true.

~

Richie sat on the couch picking at the skin around his nails. He was bored out of his mind. Ben and Bev were still on their supplies mission and he had gotten kicked out of the what-do-we-do-next discussion after making too many your mom jokes. His back was sore from sleeping on the floor and he was seriously debating taking a nap on the couch.

While Richie was still deciding on what to do Eddie emerged from the kitchen. He flopped down next to Richie, his face looking dejected.

“Hey Spaghetti was the talk too boring for you too?”

Eddie shook his head but didn’t respond. They sat there in silence until Richie couldn’t take it anymore. He jumped up off the couch and grabbed Eddie’s wrist, dragging him to the back door. “Me and Eds are going to chill in the backyard.” Richie shouted behind his shoulder as he exited the house.

They headed towards the large oak tree and Richie sat down at the base patting the grass beside him. Eddie rolled his eyes but sat down nonetheless.

“So what’s up?”

“Nothing is up.”

“I don’t know, you walked out of the kitchen looking like someone just pissed in your cereal.” Richie turned to look at Eddie who was sitting with his knees up to his chest.

“That’s gross Richie, you really do have a trashmouth.”

Richie couldn’t help but grin, “You know it!”

Richie could see a brief smile cross Eddie’s face before turning into a frown as he leaned his head against his knees. “I just feel useless. Mike, Stan, and Bill are all throwing out ideas on what to do next and I’m sitting there like an idiot.” Eddie threw his hands up in frustration.

“Hey” Richie rested his hand against Eddie’s shoulder, “You’re not an idiot.”

“I feel like one.” Eddie sighed “Everyone has all these cool powers, what the hell can I do?”

“What are you talking about? What about in the facility when you took down all those guards?”

Eddie looked towards Richie, his face somber, “I don’t know how I did that Rich. I can hardly lift a can of soda, most days my headaches don’t even let me leave the bed. I’m pathetic.”

“You are not pathetic.” Eddie turned his head away from Richie. “Eddie look at me.”

Eddie hesitantly looked to Richie whose eyes held a passion beneath them.

“You are not pathetic. You are strong, and funny, and kind, and-“ Richie paused trying to find the right words “-you’re Eddie. And I think you’re fantastic, with or without powers.”

Eddie stared at Richie, his doe eyes misting at the corners. “Thank you Richie. I think you’re fantastic too.”

Richie grinned slinging an arm around the short boy, “Yeah I am pretty cool aren’t I?”

Eddie playfully shoved at him, “Oh God, please don’t get a big ego, I can hardly handle the one you have now.” 

Richie chuckled, he always enjoyed the time he spent with Eddie. Everyone in the group was easy to talk to; they already felt like they had been friends for years. It was almost like their friendships were already predetermined.

“How were you able to catch the rabbits for us yesterday?” Eddie suddenly asked.

Richie turned to see Eddie looking at him with curious eyes. He rubbed the back of his neck, “I’m just great at wrangling rabbits, what can I say?”

“Did you use your powers? You’ve never told me what they were.”

Eddie would not stop questioning and Richie cursed his stubbornness.

“Yeah I used my powers.” Richie didn’t say anything more than this and Eddie nudged his knee urging him to continue. “Eds my powers aren’t pretty like everyone else’s.”

“What are they?” Eddie questioned “Does your powers have to do with you being so strong? Are your powers the reason for the ‘incident’ you mentioned?”

“Yes ok! My power is that I turn into a big ugly monster and guess what sometimes I can’t control my own strength when I’m like that and I ended up hurting my dad!” Richie finally exploded, “My parents were nothing but kind to me and what do I do? Almost rip my dad’s leg off! And since I’m a fucking pussy I just ran away from all my problems and then I was an idiot and got caught!” Richie huffed, out of breath and red in the face. He could feel a headache form behind his eyes from holding in all his tears.

Richie sat in the grass with the shade of the tree blocking out the summer sun. He clawed at his jeans waiting for Eddie to get up and leave now that he had seen how unsavory Richie really could be. But instead Eddie leaned over and clasped his arms around Richie. Despite their skin sticking together wherever it made contact Richie burrowed into the hug finally letting a few tears escape.

“I think you’re fantastic, every part of you.” Eddie said. Richie wanted that to be true so badly.

They continued to hold one another and Richie reveled in how their bodies fit together. Wrapped around each other like a river over a rock, filling in all the empty spots left behind by others.

“You know this is like the third deep talk I’ve had this week.” Richie said, his voice muffled by Eddie’s shoulder.

“Really? This is my first.” Eddie replied.

Richie laughed, “Yeah, I’ve talked to you, Stan, and Bill. I’m starting to think I’m good at this, bring out Mike next! There is no way he can be both handsome and have no past trauma.”

Eddie laughed his chest shaking with the movement. Richie pulled apart from him and smiled bringing his hand up to stroke the freckles along Eddie’s cheek. He distantly wondered if he could count each one.

The kitchen door swung open and Stan called from across the yard, “Hey get your butts inside, Bev and Ben are back and we need to talk about what we’re doing next.” Then Stan slipped back inside the door slamming shut behind him.

Richie pulled back from Eddie and stood up, a smile still on his face. He offered his hand to Eddie but he jumped to his feet all on his own. Richie couldn’t help but stare into Eddie’s eyes, a thought on the tip of his tongue.

“Hey Eds I-“The back door swung open again this time with everyone pilling outside. They were all running their movements frantic and their faces full of fear. 

“They’re here!” Mike screamed.

Richie and Eddie exchanged a quick glance before sprinting. The group of five caught up to them quickly and Richie risked a look behind him only to see guards clambering out of the house and a van driving along the grass. He kept running aiming for the forest that might be able to hide them. Suddenly a noise was heard off in the distance and Richie looked up to see a helicopter approaching the group from the front. They hesitated in their movements giving the van enough time to cut off their route to the forest. They went to turn right but guards were already there and looking around Richie could see that they were surrounded.

“We won’t hurt you if you come with us willingly.” One of the guards said.

The group of seven bundled together. Bill leaned over to Ben, “Now.”

Ben covered them in a force field just as the guards raised their tranquilizer guns. Bill slammed his hand onto the group creating a plume of dark smoke that encompassed the whole sphere shrouding everyone. The guards stayed with their guns trained on the group. The field was silent, the only sound was the wind through the trees and the distant call of a bird.

The force field was dropped. Smoke still stood in its place and the guards waited for it to dissipate. That’s when the group striked. Beverly shrieked, sending several guards backwards knocking them unconscious. Richie, now with his arms in beast mode, ran towards two guards grabbing their guns and smashing them in his claws. Mike, water bottle in hand, threw water past a guard and teleported, grabbing his gun and firing it at the nearby men. Bill created a dozen copies of himself running around in different directions and confusing guards. Stan picks up a discarded gun and fires, each shot hitting their target as predicted. Eddie goes around collecting every gun he sees on the ground and throwing it to Richie who breaks them in half. Ben stands in the center of the chaos shielding anyone who needs it.

Soon the group of seven is left standing with several guards unconscious, more standing with no weapon and almost every gun disposed of. But that doesn’t stop the guards who rush the group with batons and fists.

Richie grabs a guard by the leg, his black claws digging into his skin as he flings him into another group of men. He looks over at his friends and feels himself smile at what he sees. Stan is dodging each punch thrown at him like he can see it a mile away, yawning just to taunt the guard. After a few more vicious swings Stan sticks his leg out and the man trips, falling onto the ground just to have Mike teleport right above him and land on his back. Bill is keeping four copies of Beverly running around scaring each guard into thinking she will use her scream to only have Bill run up and deck them in the face. Beverly is shouting at any guard she can spot, even aiming her scream towards the ground to lift her into the air when a guard hurls their baton at her. Each member of the group is being protected by Ben who is throwing up shields whenever possible and blocking any major hits.

“Rich behind you!” Eddie shouts.

Richie turns just in time to see a guard swing his baton at Richie. He braces for impact but the guard is suddenly flung backwards, Richie turns to see Eddie’s hand reaching outward and a smile on his face.

“Great job Spaghetti!” Richie beams. His heart swells in his chest and Richie thinks they might be able to make it out of here.

But just then the helicopter lands, the group of seven turn to see it touchdown and miss the van that is pulling up behind them. More guards pile out of the van and begin to overwhelm the group. Mike is tackled to the ground and another guard apprehends Beverly from behind covering her mouth. Ben runs to help and is shot with a tranquilizer falling to the ground paralyzed.

Stan yells “Get close to the helicopter th-“ But he is tackled.

Richie, Bill, and Eddie move closer to the helicopter but can see the guards surrounding them. Richie feels a pinch against his neck he looks over to see a guard with his gun aimed at him. In the next moment he is on the ground, his limbs numb and glasses digging into his skin.

“Richie!” He can hear Eddie yell next to him.

From his view on the ground Richie can see the helicopter and scowls when he notices who is stepping out the door, the director of the facility. Richie had only met him once but he had made sure to memorize his face.

“Now this has been a whole big mess.” The director says “Stop all this fighting and struggling and just come back with us. It would make everything so much easier.” No one answers. The director sighs before motioning towards the trio laid in front of him, “Very well grab the last ones and toss them all into the van.”

Richie hears the sound of footsteps and out of the corner of his eye he can see someone grab Bill and Eddie.

“No Richie!” Eddie cries and Richie closes his eyes not wanting to see him get taken away. But then an ear piercing screech is heard and Richie feels a wave pass over him. The sound of bodies hitting the floor rings around him. Richie opens his eyes to see almost all the guards on the ground. He feels Bill’s hands on him and is propped up slightly.

Looking up Richie can see floating above them is Eddie, his eyes glowing a rose hue and hands surrounded by an energy of the same color. His face is contorted in anger as he looks at the guards still moving around. A group of them are running to one of the open vans but before they can make it Eddie moves his hand, lifting the van and tossing it into the oak tree. Any debris around them begins to float swirling around at immense speeds. Richie looks on in awe as Eddie collects all of the guns, having them hover above him before he condenses it into a ball of twisted metal and tosses it onto the other van.

Over the horizon more guards can be seen arriving and Eddie stretches his arm out clenching his fist, causing the earth around them to move and a barrier of rock to be placed, cutting off Richie, Bill and Eddie from the rest of the group. Bill looks at Richie but he can’t take his eyes off Eddie.

The tornado of wreckage picks up in speed. Eddie falls to the ground clutching his head and screaming out in agony. He is beginning to lose control. The ground shakes beneath them and Richie can feel his heart dropping.

“Eddie!” Richie shouts, the boy looks over at him face full of distress. “Don’t worry Eddie we’re still here, you just need to calm down ok? We’re all going to be fine.”

“It hurts Richie.” Eddie is sobbing. 

“I know but you’ll be alright. We can go in the house and you can sleep on the couch ok? I can sing to you just like last time but you need to calm down first.” 

Something passes over Eddie’s face and the whirlwind of debris slows down. Richie smiles as he can see Eddie return to normal.

Then a dart flies into Eddie’s neck.

Richie looks over to see the director holding a tranquilizer gun. Eddie freezes on the spot and drops to the ground, a burst of energy leaving him and sweeping across the group, knocking Bill over and causing him to drop Richie.

Richie and Bill shout Eddie’s name but he doesn’t move or give any sign of consciousness. Bill shoots up and goes to check on Richie first.

“Who would have thought that pathetic excuse for a power-user would be able to do so much?” The director said, smirking as he picked himself off from the ground. Richie could feel his anger growing. “Listen I’ll cut a deal with you. The rest of your group can go free, we won’t bother you anymore. No looking for you, no monitoring you, nothing, but” the director paused and pointed to Eddie, “We get to take him.”

“Fuck you” Richie spat. He tried his best to glare at the director from his spot on the ground before looking at Bill who made no movements towards Eddie. Bill shot the briefest glance towards Richie and then the director. Richie felt bile rise in his throat, “Bill y-you’re not actually listening to this jackass right?”

Richie could barely make out Bill in his peripherals, he was standing still. “Bill go grab Eddie.” Richie said. He could see two of the guards who were still conscious make their way over to Eddie. “Bill go grab Eddie! Go fucking grab him!” Richie began to grow hysterical as he watched Bill’s stagnant form, “Please I’ll help as soon as this shit wears off just go grab him! Go get him!” Richie began to wail into the dirt below him as Bill stood there doing nothing, “Please go grab him Bill. Pleasepleaseplease.” The guards picked up Eddie’s limp body and moved him into the Helicopter. “Bill! Please!” Richie broke down into sobs and cries of “please”.

But it was too late, the helicopter lifted off the ground with Eddie inside it.

The barrier of rocks around them sunk back into the ground, leaving little sign that they were there in the first place. The rest of the group ran to Richie and Bill avoiding the guards who were taking all the unconscious bodies to their awaiting truck.

Bill leaned down trying to pick up Richie who used all his strength to struggle enough that Bill dropped him onto the ground once again. “Don’t fucking touch me.”

Richie wasn’t sure if it was the beast blood flowing throughout him or his anger but he managed to shake off enough of the tranquilizer to stand up on trembling legs. Stan ran to his side helping prop him up.

“What happened?” Mike asked, he was holding up one side of Ben whose body was still feeling the effect of the tranquilizer; Bev was clasped on his other side.

“This fucker traded Eddie.” Richie spat.

“I did not Richie! What the fuck was I suppose to do? Go reach for Eddie and get shot myself?” Bill shouted back.

“You have powers, dumbass! Use them!” Richie could feel his throat turning raw. The rest of the group stared wide eyed with confusion. Richie pointed at Bill, “He made a deal with the director, Eddie’s life for ours.”

“He said he would leave us for good Richie, he wouldn’t search for us anymore!”

“And you believed him? You really are the biggest idiot in the universe.” Richie sneered.

“You don’t understand Richie, I have a family, I need to make sure Georgie is ok.”

“And Eddie has nothing! He has spent his whole life in that hell hole! He didn’t even know what rain felt like, he-“ Richie broke off his voice trembling. Both him and Bill were crying, their emotions so intense they needed a way to escape their bodies.

Bill took a few shaky breaths before speaking, “I chose the best option for us in the moment. Now we have time to grab supplies, plan ahead, and train to get Eddie back. And we will get Eddie back.”

Richie glared at Bill, “If Eddie doesn’t die before then.”

Bill didn’t respond, he just stood there staring at Richie with an unreadable expression before turning on his heel and heading into the house. By then the field was clear except for the wreckage of the vans and the debris littered everywhere. One by one each member of the group headed into the house until it was just Stan and Richie.

Stan looked over at Richie, his face full of sympathy but Richie shrugged him off. Stan patted him on the shoulder before heading inside leaving Richie alone. He looked over the wreckage across the field and realized how quiet it had become. Smoke billowed from a twisted lump of metal that used to be a car, where the rock barrier had been, now sat uneven patches of dirt. Even the forest was filled with an unnatural stillness as if it knew what had taken place. Richie gazed up at the sky secretly wondered if the numbing in his limbs had moved to his heart instead. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Comments and constructive criticism are very much appreciated!


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